Pokémon: The Electric Project
by Fire Girl125
Summary: Fresh off a win from the Unova League, Ash returns home to Pallet Town for some relaxation and celebration. But evil and jealousy threatens the lives of those closest to Ash, especially to Dawn. Can Ash along with his friends stop this new evil, or will this new evil be too much to handle? Sequel to Pokémon: Evolution Eevee.
1. Congratulations Are In Order!

**A/N: Surprise everyone! Here's my new Pokémon story! This is the sequel to my other Pokémon story _Pokémon: Evolution Eevee. _Enjoy the story and the first chapter! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Pokémon _although I wish I did. :)**

* * *

Watching the Sinnoh Pokémon League was tough. Watching the Unova Pokémon League was tougher. Dawn had trouble sitting in her seat with Piplup and Buneary in her lap while her mother Johanna couldn't help but notice her daughter fidgeting. Of course, Dawn would be excited. Her boyfriend, Ash Ketchum was in the Unova Pokémon League competition trying to compete in getting the coveted honor of getting a chance to battle the head of the Elite Four. He had come so close the year before, placing in the Top 4 of the Sinnoh League, but Dawn knew Ash had the talent to win this one. She didn't doubt him for a moment. Dawn was so into the battle on television that she didn't notice that her mother was chuckling at her. _Young love, _Johanna thought to herself, seeing Dawn interested in the battle only because Ash was about to come on television any moment.

"Dawn, you might want to stop fidgeting." Johanna told her daughter. Dawn, Piplup and Buneary all turned their heads to the mother figure in the room. "I get that you're nervous about Ash battling, but you'll end up on the floor if you don't stop moving around so much." Dawn blushed at her mother, turning back at the T.V.

"Sorry mom." Dawn apologized. "I'm just really excited to see Ash battle in the finals. He could win the whole thing."

"I know he can." Johanna smiled, looking back at her daughter. "By the way, when was the last time that you actually spoke to him?"

"Early this morning, mom." Dawn answered. "I called him before he had to be at the arena to wish him good luck. Sometimes I wish that I was there with him."

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder." Johanna smiled.

"You didn't say the same thing about dad." Dawn raised an eyebrow, still looking at the television. "Instead you were upset that he was gone for so long." Johanna tensed up a bit. She knew where this conversation with her daughter was going.

"Dawn, we're not going to talk about this now." Johanna lowered her head.

"But we never talk about dad. You won't even tell me where he is." Dawn crossed her arms.

"Because where he is isn't important." Johanna's stern answer meant that the conversation was over. Dawn decided not to press the question any longer and turned back to the television.

"Fine." Was all Dawn said. Johanna sat down next to her daughter, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't we just enjoy the battle that's on T.V, okay?" Johanna's face brightened.

"Do you think that Ash is battling next?" Dawn questioned.

"He might be. The final battle is supposed to be on in 20 minutes." Johanna looked at her watch. Dawn turned to look at the lock, another thing on her mind.

"I wonder if Brock and Gary are watching the battle too."

"I'm pretty sure they are." Johanna said. "They are Ash's friends you know."

"Look, the battle's back on T.V!" Dawn screeched while pointing at the television.

"Buneary!" Buneary covered her ears, giving her trainer an annoyed look. Dawn blushed heavily.

"I'm sorry Buneary. I'm just so excited." Dawn and Johanna looked back to the T.V, watching the final battle of the Unova League take place

* * *

Ash Ketchum watched the gigantic jumbo-tron that was plastered in the middle of the Unova League battlefield. He had been waiting for this moment ever since he stepped onto the island of Unova. He was in the finals, hoping that he could win it all. He was looking forward to the battle as well—it was against his main Unova rival Trip. Ash had never been able to beat Trip before, but he was certain that he would beat him this time. However, Ash couldn't lie—he was nervous. Very nervous. It was probably the most nervous he'd had been since knowing he had to battle his main rival (and now good friend) Gary Oak in the Johto Pokémon League. Ash stared at the clock as if time was precious, and was about to stop forever until he heard a familiar call come from his friend, Pikachu.

"Pika, Pi?" Pikachu looked at his best friend with a concerned look.

"I'm fine." Ash turned to his friend, picking him up while scratching behind his ears. "I'm just nervous, that's all which is weird because I've never been nervous before."

"Pika, Pika." Pikachu patted Ash's shoulders, trying to give him a confidence booster. Pikachu had a point. Ash could do this. And even if Ash had lost, everyone would still love him the same, and he wouldn't be a loser. But he had to prove something to himself, to Trip and to all those fans who came to watch. He had to prove to Trip that no one from Pallet Town were considered 'hillbillies'. He had to prove that he was just as good. Ash had to prove that he had been doing this longer than Trip. Pikachu jumped from Ash's arms, raising his small fist up as if he was doing a fist pump.

"Pikachu, we're going to win this!" Ash patted Pikachu's head with a smile.

"Pi, Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded his head.

"_Can we have the contestants on the battle field please?" _Ash and Pikachu began to walk to their respective side of the battlefield, noticing Trip with his camera along the way.

"Can I ask why you're pointing your camera at me?" Ash turned to Trip, sounding annoyed.

"Because I want to document you before you lose the Unova League." Trip smiled. Ash gritted his teeth as he took his place on the battlefield. Pikachu stood beside Ash, glaring at Trip from across the arena.

"Here are the final two competitors in the Unova League. Standing on one side of the field, it's Ash from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region! On the other side, it's Trip from Nuvema Town in the Unova Region! Both trainers have one Pokémon remaining. Call out your remaining Pokémon and let the battle begin!" The announcer screamed. _Its show time, _Ash thought to himself.

"Pikachu! I choose you!" Ash yelled. Pikachu ran on the field, getting into a battle stance. Trip grabbed one of the Pokéball's from his pocket, squeezing it hoping that he was making the right move.

"Serperior! Let's go." Trip threw the Pokéball, Serperior popping out of it. Ash looked out at the battleground, a strategy forming in his mind.

"Pikachu, let's start with Quick Attack!" Ash commanded. Pikachu began to run quickly towards Serperior, hoping to attack first. But as soon as Pikachu reached Serperior, Serperior moved out of the way.

"Pika?" Pikachu looked around, trying to find where his foe went.

"Now, use Solarbeam!" Trip yelled out. Pikachu and Ash weren't sure where Serperior went, but out of nowhere, Serperior appeared to attack Pikachu. Serperior unleashed a powerful Solarbeam that sent Pikachu flying across the field.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out to his friend, hoping that he was all right. Pikachu lay on the ground, Ash clenching his fist with worry. He couldn't let Trip win so easily. Just then, Pikachu slowly got up, glaring at the plant Pokémon.

"Use Leaf Tornado." Trip ordered his Pokémon. Ash had to think of something or he was going to lose the battle. For now, Ash had to have Pikachu run away from the attacks. _That's it!_ Ash thought to himself.

"Pikachu! Use Quick Attack and run around Serperior!" Ash commanded. Pikachu quickly did as he was told, running around the Pokémon who was trying to attack. Serperior began to feel dizzy, not sure where to attack the Leaf Tornado and lost control of his power. The Leaf Tornado started heading towards Trip and there was nowhere for Trip to go. Trip jumped out of the way with the Leaf Tornado hitting the wall of the field. Trip slowly got up from the ground, growling at his foe. "Now Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the ground!" Pikachu obliged with his trainer, releasing a Thunderbolt straight to the ground. Trip raised his eyebrow in confusion. _What is he up to now?_

"Serperior, use Solarbeam again!" Trip yelled out. Ash and Pikachu had a plan this time.

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" Ash yelled. Pikachu's tail started to glow with electricity, an electric ball forming. Pikachu twisted his tail aiming the Electro Ball quickly at Serperior before Serperior had a chance to attack. Serperior flew back into the wall as the Electro Ball hit with full impact. Trip turned his head, mortified that his opponent could have possibly beaten him. Serperior struggled to get up, his eyes opening slowly. Pikachu and Serperior felt exhausted, not sure if either of them could keep the battle up much longer.

"Let's just end this right here." Trip smirked. "Serperior, use Frenzy Plant!"

"Just the move I was hoping for." Ash grinned. "Pikachu jump as high as you can!" Serperior unleashed the Frenzy Plant, but as quickly as Serperior unleashed his attack, Pikachu jumped in the air as high as he could—and _just_ missed Serperior's attack. Trip looked shocked watching Pikachu jump back onto the battlefield.

"What on earth was that?" Trip looked shocked.

"Didn't know Pikachu could jump that high, did you?" Ash smirked.

"No, I didn't know that." Trip softly admitted to himself. He wasn't going to give Ash the satisfaction that he was actually impressed. "Serperior, use Solarbeam!"

"Like I figured." Ash smirked. "Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Ash pointed towards his opponent. Pikachu quickly ran towards Serperior while Serperior tried to charge up. Serperior found that it was unable to charge due to the last attack. Electricity engulfed Pikachu as he ran towards Serperior. Serperior looked stuck; he didn't know how to attack next.

"Serperior!" Trip yelled. "Charge up and use Solarbeam!"

"Serperior can't use Solarbeam." Ash simpered. "After using Frenzy Plant, the user needs to let his Pokémon recharge a bit. It can't use any attacks until then." Trip's face turned stone cold. The next thing they knew, Serperior swatted Pikachu with his tail, but not before Pikachu landed smack dab into Serperior with the Volt Tackle. Serperior and Pikachu both fell to the floor, both trainers looking at their respective Pokémon, hoping that one of them could last longer than the other. Slowly, Pikachu began to get up while Serperior also tried to stand tall. In the end, Serperior fell back down, with squiggles in its eyes. Trip backed off for a moment, staring at Ash. He lost. Trip lost the competition. Ash continued to stare at Pikachu who stood back up. The crowd erupted in a ginormous cheer. They had a new winner of the Unova League. Ash stared around at the crowd, dawning that he was the one that won the competition. Ash turned back to Pikachu who looked at his trainer. Like Pikachu said, they won. Ash ran over to grab Pikachu to give him a gigantic hug. "We did it Pikachu! We did it!"

"Pika, Pi! Pika!" Pikachu hugged his trainer tightly. Finally, after all these years of training, Ash and Pikachu were victorious. They won the Unova League! Ash and Pikachu saw cannons of confetti going off, Ash beaming with pride.

"Serperior is unable to battle! Pikachu wins meaning Ash from Pallet Town is the winner of the Unova League Championship!" The announcer screamed over the intercom. Ash looked at Pikachu, thinking this all had to be a dream.

"Pikachu, can you do me a favor?" Ash wondered.

"Pika?" Pikachu wondered

"Can you Thunderbolt me? Please?" Ash asked. "This all can't be real. I didn't really win." Pikachu gave Ash a jumbled look but complied. Pikachu unleashed a Thunderbolt towards his friend but all Ash did was fall over. Pikachu let out a sigh, trying to help his friend up. "Yep, this is real." Ash settled. Pikachu shook his head, a small smile growing on his face. Ash quickly stood up, his face bringing out a huge grin. Ash and Pikachu were led to the stage where they were standing to get their trophy—and to be interviewed by Unova T.V that was being broadcast all over the world! _The guys are never going to let me live this down, _Ash thought for a moment. He shook that out of his thoughts as he was handed the Unova League trophy.

"Congratulations to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town for winning this award! Now he had the chance to compete against Alder the head of the Elite Four!" The announcer smiled, looking into the camera. Pikachu waved to the camera, instructing Ash to do the same. Ash was completely in shock. He remembered to at least smile on television so that he didn't look disappointed. Ash quickly let out a grin, showing the world his trophy. "So Ash, now that you've won the Unova League, what are you going to do?"

"I'm thinking of just heading home to the Kanto Region, relax a bit, train my Pokémon and then come back to battle Alder, if it's all right with him." Ash turned his head to Alder who nodded his head.

"Sounds perfectly fine to me." The head of the Unova Elite Four agreed. Ash and Pikachu looked down at the trophy, marveling in the glory. Ash held the trophy above his head, Pikachu helping his best friend. Ash and Pikachu didn't realize Trip watching from the corner with Serperior, a look that didn't match the rest of the coliseum. His face twisted in rage as he clenched his fists. _Why did Ash have to be such know it all, _Trip thought to himself. He took his camera out of his pocket, snapping a picture of Ash. _You think you're so all mighty, don't you Ash Ketchum? Well then, let's see until we meet again_. Trip turned around, heading towards the exit of the stadium, not wanting to have to answer questions about Ash and how Ash had beaten him in one of the most important battles of their Pokémon careers. As Trip walked outside of the stadium, he looked at the gigantic screen noticing that Ash was still talking. Just then, pictured on the screen was a girl with blue hair, yellow hairclips and a white hat with a Pink Pokémon emblem on the front. Trip stared at the picture, a smirk on his face forming. Reading the captioning on the television, he realized that the girl was none other than Ash's girlfriend who was all the way in the Sinnoh Region. A plan formed in Trip's mind, but he had to head towards his room to pack before he was going to put the plan into action.

* * *

"He won! He won!" Dawn screamed, jumping up and down the living room holding Piplup and Buneary.

"That was some good strategy." Johanna sounded impressed. "He really has proved that he has what it takes to win."

"I have to call him!" Dawn ran to the phone, dialing Ash's number. Dawn turned to the screen to see Ash still on television before it hit her that he wasn't going to be able to answer her call. Dawn put the phone down, looking glum.

"I have an idea." Johanna said, getting up from the sofa. "Why don't you go and visit him in Pallet Town."

"You mean take the ferry and surprise him?" Dawn asked.

"Exactly my point." Johanna turned to her daughter.

"Well, it is going to be Ash's birthday soon. Maybe visiting him will be a good idea." Dawn said.

"That would be a great birthday gift for him. After winning the Unova League, he might want to spend time with you and get some time off from Pokémon."

"That means I have to pack." Dawn started to head up the stairs, a smile forming on Johanna's face.

"What am I going to do with her?" Johanna asked rhetorically. Glameow jumped onto the couch, curling up into a ball with a smile on her face.

"Meow." Glameow responded before taking a well-deserved catnap.

* * *

In Professor Oak's laboratory, an Eevee and an Umbreon were busy watching one of the channels on T.V. It had been a busy day in the Pokémon lab, so to keep themselves busy while their owner finished up his work, they put on Unova T.V which had been added to the cable package recently. After watching Ash and Pikachu on stage, accepting their reward, Eevee pointed with a smile. Umbreon raised an eyebrow turning to the screen. He recognized Ash and Pikachu and right away Umbreon turned to the door.

"Umbreon! Umbreon!" Umbreon yelled out. Eevee turned to see what Umbreon was so interested about, but in the midst of trying to get Umbreon's attention, Eevee knocked into the table, knocking over a test tube that was empty.

"Eevee." Eevee became worried. She heard footsteps come towards the room as she cowered to the corner of the room.

"What's wrong Umbreon?" The person appeared in the doorway to reveal none other than Gary Oak. Gary looked at his Pokémon before noticing the broken test tube. "Oh no. What happened to the test tube?" Umbreon turned to the corner to find Eevee still cowering in the corner. Gary walked over to the corner of the lab to see Eevee's guilty face. "Eevee, did you do this?" Gary wondered.

"Eevee." Eevee slowly admitted. Gary let out a sigh and went to grab the broom.

"It's all right, I'll pick it up." Gary assured his Pokémon. "I'm not mad, Eevee. Just be careful next time, okay?" Eevee quickly nodded her head. "So what did you guys call me in here for?" Umbreon pointed to the television, showing Ash and Pikachu still on television. Gary stared at the television for a moment, a smile forming. "So…Ashy boy finally did it." Gary threw out the broken test tube before heading to the phone. "There are some people that are going to be interested about this, aren't they guys?"

"Eevee!"

"Umbreon!" Gary smiled at his friends, dialing the number of one of his closest friends.

"Zoey? Hey there." Gary leaned against the wall. Umbreon and Eevee turned to one another, sticking out their tongues playfully. After saving Eevee from Team Rocket and the evil Pokémon magician, Gary and Zoey became a couple and although it was hard for them to keep their relationship since they were apart, they still found time to call each other and write. Umbreon sometimes blamed Eevee for the reason that they were together. "Yeah, did you watch Unova T.V? Ash finally did it." Umbreon zoned out from Gary's conversation, looking up at the screen with interest. Eevee and Umbreon were hoping that they were going to be able to watch the competition again. They needed something to keep them busy while Gary practically flirted on the phone. Eevee started to scurry out of the room, Umbreon soon following wondering what Eevee was doing. Umbreon and Eevee exited through the back of the Pokémon lab to where Ash's other Pokémon were, busy as ever. They noticed Ash's Sceptile sitting in one of the trees while Ash's Torkoal took a nap in the summer sun. Eevee couldn't wait to tell the Pokémon the news. Umbreon let out a smile to his friend. _Eevee, _Umbreon shook his head thinking to himself. Gary reappeared from the Pokémon lab to find Eevee with the other Pokémon. Before Gary could ask what was going on, he turned to see his Grandfather Professor Oak walking towards them. Gary smiled, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Gary, just the person I wanted to see." Professor Oak acknowledged his grandson.

"What's wrong grandpa?" Gary wondered.

"I was wondering if you happened to catch a bit of Unova T.V while working." Professor Oak smiled.

"No, I didn't but Eevee and Umbreon did. They had been watching it all afternoon." Gary pointed to his Pokémon. "Does it have to do with the fact that Ash just won the Unova League?"

"That might have something to do with it." Professor Oak smiled.

"Well we don't want to embarrass him when he gets home, now do we?" Gary chuckled.

"I don't know, I was thinking maybe we shall." Professor Oak joked. Gary knew that his grandfather was kidding, but a plan was forming in Gary's mind. He decided that he should play a little prank on Ash when he got here. Gary wasn't called the king of pranks when he and Ash were in school for nothing. "Oh, but Gary on the serious note, Daisy is coming here." Gary's face suddenly froze as he turned to his grandfather.

"You can't be serious!" Gary exclaimed

"Sorry Gary." Professor Oak apologized. "But she said that she wanted to see you about something."

"Why does she want to see me?" Gary huffed. "I don't want to talk to her."

"I know you don't." Professor Oak sighed. "But, you might want to hear her out. She has something important about her research that she wishes to share."

"Then why can't she talk to you about it?" Gary whined. "I don't want to hear on and on about how she's better than me."

"Gary, you and Daisy need to put this sibling rivalry behind you." Professor Oak sternly told his grandson. "You two are family and you need to start working together."

"Why, so she can tell me that her Pokémon are better than mine?" Gary raised an eyebrow, his voice oozing in disgust. "How her's are stronger and how I'm wasting my time at being a researcher because she's better than me at that too?"

"Gary." Professor Oak said. Gary looked up at his grandfather, seeing his face was serious. "That's enough. You're 17-years old. I shouldn't have to continue getting in the middle of your quarrels with your sister."

"I'm not talking about her anymore." Gary turned his head to focus on Ash's Pokémon. Professor Oak let out a sigh, heading back to the lab. Gary didn't want to hear about his sister. He didn't want to hear about how Daisy was perfect and beautiful and smart. He was tired of living under her shadow. He wasn't' going to do it anymore. He was going to finally become his own person and prove to Daisy that he was just as good as she was—maybe even better.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Gary had heard that Ash would be arriving home so he decided to head over to his house to congratulate him in person. He called Ash shortly after the battle to congratulate him, but he felt that it would have been more fitting to do it in person. Eevee and Umbreon followed Gary in tow, excited to see Ash's Pokémon again. Eevee and Umbreon got along well with Pikachu and they wanted to wish Pikachu their congratulations. Gary spotted Ash's mother Delia Ketchum and her Mr. Mime in the garden, planting more flowers. Gary cleared his throat, knocking on the small garden door to get Delia's attention.

"Hi Mrs. Ketchum." Gary called out. Delia turned around, smiling at the boy that she had known for years.

"Good afternoon Gary." Delia smiled.

"Is Ash here?" Gary wondered.

"He's not home yet. He said maybe in the next hour. The ferry was running late from Unova to the Kanto region." Delia explained. Gary held up some treats that his grandfather instructed that he'd bring to Delia and Ash.

"My grandfather made these for you." Gary smiled.

"Thank you sweetie." Delia took the pastries from Gary and opened the garden door. "Why don't you come in the house and wait for Ash there? You wouldn't be the only one that showed up."

"Who else is here?" Gary questioned, his face turning confused.

"Why don't you go inside and find out?" Delia winked at Gary before returning to tending her roses with Mr. Mime. Gary shrugged and led Eevee and Umbreon towards the front door. When Gary entered the room, he spotted some familiar faces.

"No way!" Gary said almost sounding excited. "Brock? Misty? What are you two doing here?" Misty and Brock stood up from their seat to walk to Gary.

"We caught Unova T.V back at the Pewter City Gym." Brock explained.

"And we saw that Ash won the Unova League. We of course had to be here in person in order to wish Ash our congratulations." Misty added.

"Well, he's going to be surprised that were all here." Gary chuckled.

"He is." Brock nodded his head with a smile. "I figured he would have been here by now."

"Ash's mom said that Ash was held up in Unova trying to catch a ferry back here." Gary explained.

"I heard that they were working on some odd schedule." Misty said. "Hopefully he gets here in time so that we can get the celebration started."

"I figured that more people would have come to see him." Gary sounded almost worried.

"May and Max are heading in from Hoenn." Brock assured his friend. "They should be here soon. As for Dawn, we haven't heard from her. Do you think that Ash did?"

"I don't know." Gary said. "He hasn't spoken about Dawn in any of our conversations. I did hear that they were still together just by watching Unova T.V."

"I'd like to meet Dawn." Misty said. "We could finally meet the girl that forced Ash to grow up."

"That's right, you never met her." Brock and Gary looked to their friend.

"Nope, and I would love to." Misty grinned. Brock and Gary were about to say something until the door opened showing Delia entering with Mr. Mime.

"I just spotted Ash down the road." Delia sounded enthusiastic.

"That's great, so what do we do?" Gary wondered.

"Hide, Gary. We hide." Misty instructed. Gary quickly took Misty's cue as he and Brock hid behind the couch. They had hoped that they were in a perfect position where Ash couldn't spot them. They heard the door open slightly and footsteps coming towards them.

"Mom? Is anyone home?" Ash called out. He found it odd that no one was here—or so he thought.

"Pika, Pika?" Pikachu called out as well. Ash placed the trophy down by the door, walking to the kitchen hoping that someone would show up.

"I wonder where everyone is Pikachu." Ash sounded a bit worried.

"Pika, Pi." Pikachu patted his trainer's leg, hearing something. Someone was making sudden movements, which made Pikachu's ears flop up in the air. Pikachu started following the noise, only to find none other than Eevee under the table eating a Poffin that Gary had given her earlier. Apparently, she had chosen the wrong time to eat it. "Pika, Pika, Pi!" Pikachu yelled out in excitement, engulfing Eevee in a hug. Eevee turned to Pikachu, a smile on her face. Ash walked over to see Eevee under his table with Pikachu. If Eevee was here, then there was a good chance that Gary was probably here too. Ash looked behind the sofa to see Brock, Gary and Misty there.

"Well, looks like the cats out the bag." Misty sighed.

"Nice to see you guys." Ash let out a sly grin at his friends. "You know you have to do better at hiding."

"It's not our fault." Gary protested. "Eevee was eating which gave away our cover." Gary gave Ash a pat on his back, pointing to the trophy at the same time. "Way to go Ashy Boy."

"You're going to still call me that after all these years Gary?" Ash tried his best to hide his annoyance.

"Of course, and I'm not going to stop." Gary let out a cocky grin.

"Well, since you found your friends." Ash turned his head to see his mom coming out of the kitchen with a cake in her hand. "We're so proud of you honey."

"Mom." Ash blushed. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder, looking at the cake.

"Pika! Pi!" Pikachu started to smell something. Could it be? No way. Of course. It was ketchup. In a swift motion, Pikachu jumped off Ash's back to rush to the kitchen. He was hungry and he wanted some ketchup.

"Pikachu, make sure to leave some ketchup for everyone else." Ash instructed.

"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu agreed, heading into the kitchen to look for the ketchup bottle.

"I see Pikachu's ketchup obsession hasn't died down." Misty giggled.

"Nope, not at all." Ash smiled. He looked to his friends, grateful that they were there in this moment. Ash was about to answer when he heard a knock on the door.

"We were expecting more people." Brock informed Ash. Ash walked to the door, curious as to who was on the other side. Ash cleared his throat, opening the door to see who come to visit. Ash's jaw dropped in one instant, surprised and shocked at who was on his doorstep. Dawn, stood before Ash with a grin, glad to see that he was still the goofy teenager that she fell in love with.

"Surprise, hero." Dawn smiled. Ash quickly pulled Dawn in for a hug, not wanting to let go of her. Dawn wrapped her arms around his neck, looking into his eyes.

"I can't believe that you're here." Ash placed his forehead's on Dawn's. Dawn shrugged her shoulders, letting out a smile.

"As soon as I saw the news I knew I had to come here." Dawn explained. "It's not every day that my boyfriend wins the Unova League." Ash felt his cheeks turn red at Dawn's comment. He pressed his lips to hers; glad that everything felt right—but Ash and Dawn didn't notice a figure watching them in the distance, and the figure wasn't there to join in the celebration.


	2. A Sibling Rivalry

**A/N: Here's a brand new chapter of the story. Enjoy everyone!**

**Disclaimer: I'm just a fan of Pokémon. I'm don't own it.**

* * *

Ash and Dawn stood outside of Ash's house, staring at one another as if they were the only ones that existed in the world. While existing in his own little world with Dawn, Ash felt someone tapping his back, bringing him back to reality. He looked back to find Gary crossing his arms, a grin on his face meaning that they had been out there longer than they expected. Ash felt his cheeks turn a bright red, turning back to Dawn with a smile. Dawn couldn't help but stifle a giggle. At that moment, Dawn could have sworn that Ash and Gary were more like brothers than best friends.

"Maybe we should take the party back inside." Gary pointed in Ash's house. Dawn held onto Ash's arm causing Ash to release a smirk.

"All right, you have a point." Ash playfully punched Gary in the shoulder before pulling Dawn inside the room. Dawn turned her head to see Brock standing before her along with a girl that Dawn had never seen before. Dawn looked to Ash and Gary and back at the girl which Ash caught on right away. "Dawn, this is Misty. Misty this is Dawn, my girlfriend." Misty's smile turned wide towards Dawn.

"So you're the girl that forced Ash to grow up." Misty smirked at her old traveling partner.

"Gee, really?" Ash let out a slight sigh. "So this is how you talk about me when I'm not around?"

"Oh hush." Misty replied in a playful tone. Dawn didn't know why, but all of a sudden she was feeling a little threatened. Here was a girl that Ash had known for a very long time while on the other hand, Dawn had known Ash for almost two years. Dawn tightened her grip on Ash's shoulder, prompting Ash to turn his head at her with a confused look.

"Dawn, are you all right?" Ash asked.

"Huh?" Dawn looked to her boyfriend.

"For one thing, you're grabbing onto Ash's shoulder pretty tightly." Gary pointed out to her. Dawn looked at her hand on Ash's shoulder and how she was practically squeezing the blood out of it. Dawn released Ash's shoulder, looking down at the ground.

"Oh, I'm fine. No need to worry." Dawn tried to assure everyone around her.

"All right then." Ash continued to study his girlfriend. Misty and Gary looked at one another while Misty playfully punched Gary's shoulder.

"So Gary, what about you? Are you dating anyone?" Misty asked. Gary looked at everyone, not sure how to answer.

"How are things going between you and Zoey?" Ash became interested.

"Well, things are confusing." Gary admitted. "For one thing, it's hard for either of us to see each other."

"But you guys are so perfect for each other." Dawn sounded almost surprised.

"Yeah, we are perfect for each other when we're with each other." Gary stuffed his hands in his pockets. "But when we're far apart, I begin to wonder if getting into a relationship was such a good idea."

"You can't seriously consider breaking up with Zoey." Dawn crossed her arms towards her friend. "If you do, I won't allow it."

"I'm not thinking about breaking up with Zoey." Gary assured Dawn. "I knew it was going to be hard, but I can do it. Besides, you and Ash did it. He was away from you for almost a year and you guys are still together."

"Well, we called each other every day and we tried to take time out of our journey to visit each other." Dawn explained. Gary took in everything that Dawn had said, realizing that he may have talked to Zoey, he didn't visit her.

"Do you think she hates me for not visiting?" Gary asked.

"I doubt she hates you." Dawn said. "She may just want to be with you though. She most likely misses you."

"As much as Gary's relationship drama is interesting." Misty spoke up, allowing the three teenagers to turn to Misty. "I suggest that we get to eating this cake. I'm hungry."

"That's usually my line." Ash walked past Misty to get some cake. Dawn looked at Misty and Ash, feeling a little uncertain and unsure. Could Dawn really trust herself around Misty? A knock on the door interrupted Dawn's thoughts with the other teenagers looking confused. Who could that be now? Ash walked over to get the door, finding that the person behind the door was pretty much a shocker. "P—Paul?!" Ash blurted out. Dawn, Gary and Brock turned their head to find Paul standing there with a smirk on his face.

"Paul? What are you doing here?" Gary questioned. Paul looked to Ash, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I heard that Ash here won the Unova League." Paul pointed to Ash.

"You saw it on T.V, didn't you?" Dawn smirked towards Ash's intense rival.

"I did _not_." Paul harshly told Dawn. Dawn's smirk disappeared, appearing shocked before her smirk returned.

"Sure you didn't." Dawn chuckled.

"Who do we have here?" They heard Ash's mother walking to the front door. Paul looked at Delia, not sure what he should do. Should he introduce himself to Delia as Ash's rival or should he just turn around and leave? Before Paul could contemplate, Dawn stepped in.

"This is Ash's rival and friend Paul. Don't mind him though. Paul's pretty intense." Dawn told Ash's mother. Ash and Paul looked at one another, confused by what Dawn had meant by Paul being Ash's _friend_. Paul was sure that he wasn't friends with Ash. Why would he want to be friends with him anyway.

"It's nice to meet you Paul." Delia smiled. Paul turned to Delia, trying to be as polite as possible.

"It's nice to meet you too ma'am." Paul responded.

"Would you like to come in Paul?" Delia asked. Paul thought for a moment, looking at Ash and Dawn before turning his attention back to Ash's mother.

"That would be lovely, thank you." Paul walked inside the house, surprised when Mr. Mime came to take Paul's backpack. His eyes opened in awe but as quickly as they did, his brooding demeanor returned. He couldn't let Ash or anyone else know that he was actually impressed with Mr. Mime. It would be completely out of character.

"Hi Paul!" Misty introduced herself in a bubbly matter. "My name is Misty. It's nice to meet you." Paul tried to remember if he had seen Misty before.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Paul asked.

"I'm the Cerulean Gym Leader." Misty smiled. Paul looked in awe again at Misty. He then let out a smirk.

"So, were you stuck as the Cerulean Gym Leader because your sisters are prettier and more sensational than you are?" Paul smirked, walking past her. Misty found her temper getting the best of her again.

"What did you say you jerk?!" Misty growled. Ash, Dawn, Brock and Gary looked nervous towards Paul and Misty, which gave Brock and Ash the job to calm Misty down. Ash and Brock grabbed Misty away from Paul before she did something that she was going to regret.

"He wants you to get mad Misty." Ash told his friend. "That's what gives him satisfaction."

"Well he really messed with the wrong girl!" Misty tried to break free from Brock and Ash's grip while Ash and Brock attempted to pull her back.

"A girl with temper." Paul sneered. "I like that."

"What did he say about me now?!" Misty yelled.

"Paul, can't you just cool it?" Ash looked over to his rival.

"And why should I?" Paul smirked.

"Because you're upsetting Misty and Misty is one person that you don't want to upset." Ash pointed to his friend.

"Well, I'm glad to know that she'll be fun to mess with it." Paul let out a hollow chuckle. Misty growled at Paul then turned back to Ash.

"I can see why you don't like him. He's a jerk." Misty sighed.

"Trust me, I've known more jerks than Paul." Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"Like who?" Dawn interjected. Ash looked to his girlfriend and back at Paul.

"This guy in Unova named Trip. He thought he was better than me and he was just starting his Pokémon journey." Ash gritted his teeth. Ash continued to look at Paul, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Ash?" Dawn spoke up. Ash turned his head to Dawn, not sure what to say next.

"Dawn, can I speak with you in the kitchen?" Ash wondered. Dawn looked to Ash, following him to the kitchen only to find Pikachu guzzling down more ketchup. "Pikachu! I thought I told you to save some ketchup for the others!"

"Pika, Pika?" Pikachu looked confused to Ash, but quickly turned his head to Dawn. "Pika, Pika!" Pikachu ran to Dawn, rubbing his head on her leg affectionately.

"Pikachu, it's so great to see you." Dawn picked up Pikachu, cuddling with her boyfriend's Pokémon while Ash looked agitated.

"Why did you tell my mom that Paul was my friend?" Ash stressed out the question.

"Well, you do know Paul, Ash." Dawn explained. "He can be considered somewhat of a friend."

"Yeah, an annoying, menacing, cruel friend." Ash scoffed.

"Just give Paul a chance, Ash." Dawn put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "He's already here and he wants to wish you congratulations on your win in the Unova League. The least you could do is be nice to him." Ash knew that Dawn was right. He let out a sigh of defeat before relenting.

"Fine, I'll give Paul a chance. How long can Paul actually stay?" Ash grabbed Dawn's hand to lead her back to the living room. A knock on the door once again made everyone in the living room turn to the entrance. "Who is it this time?" Ash began to sound annoyed.

"Why don't we open the door to find out?" Brock smirked. Ash walked over to the door, opening it to find a young woman standing before him. Dawn peered from behind Ash's shoulder to find the young woman, becoming jealous once again.

"Daisy!" Ash let out a smile.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Ash Ketchum, the winner of the Unova League." Daisy crossed her arms with a grin on her face. "It's great to see you again." Daisy gave Ash a hug before looking at Dawn who wasn't taking too kindly to her hugging Ash. "And you must be Dawn, Ash's lovebird. He's told me all about you."

"He has?" Dawn pointed to herself.

"Lovebird?" Ash's eyes opened wide in shock. He told Daisy he had a girlfriend, but he didn't tell Daisy that Dawn was his 'lovebird.' _She just loves to embarrass me in front of people, doesn't she? _Ash thought to himself.

"Yeah, it's nice to finally see you in person." Daisy said.

"Um, do you mind if I ask who are you?" Dawn questioned.

"I am none other than Daisy Oak, Pokémon Coordinator, Pokémon Doctor and currently a Pokémon researcher." Daisy bowed before Dawn. Dawn looked to Ash who gave Dawn a grin.

"Daisy loves Pokémon and tries to do so many things with them." Ash illuminated. "She'll do anything to help them."

"So you're a coordinator, huh?" Dawn wondered.

"Yep." Daisy looked at Dawn patting her shoulder. "I actually came to Pallet Town for two reasons. One to wish congratulations to Ash along with seeing my little brother and two to talk to my grandfather about a new research project I was working on."

"Your brother?" Dawn queried.

"Daisy's brother is Gary." Ash pointed towards Gary who was oblivious to the fact that Daisy was even in the same house as him.

"If Daisy is Gary's brother then why hasn't he spoken about her?" Dawn pondered.

"Let's just say that Gary and Daisy don't get along very well." Ash softly explained.

"Unfortunately, we don't get along well because Gary is a bit jealous of me." Daisy noticed her little brother. "That's why I want to make amends with him. I want him to understand that no matter what, he can always come to me for help." Ash and Dawn looked at one another, unsure if Daisy's idea of "helping" Gary would be music to Gary's ears. "So where is my little brother anyway?"

"He's over there." Dawn pointed to Gary, Brock and Misty in the corner of the room talking. Daisy made her way towards her little brother, a smile upon her face.

"Hi Gary." Daisy smiled. Gary turned to Daisy, doing a double take to make sure that it really was his sister. Gary's face turned sour at the presence of his older, 'perfect' sibling.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Gary huffed.

"Why are you so bitter every time I come to visit you?" Daisy asked.

"Hmm, let's think about the reasons about how you are uncaring, impossible to work with and how you are always trying it make it look like I am not better than you." Gary sounded bitter.

"Gary, are we really going to fight about this now?" Daisy tried to reason with her brother, but Gary shook her off heading towards the back of the house.

"I have to go Ash. I'll see you later." Gary nodded to everyone, but tried to keep his distance from Daisy as he bolted out the back door. Ash couldn't help but feel bad for his friend, but he did know that Gary and Daisy were going to have to work out their problems eventually.

"So Daisy, what kind of research were you working on?" Ash asked. Everyone turned to Daisy, a smile forming on her face.

"I think you'll want to bring Pikachu to the Pokémon lab, Ash." Daisy said. "Pikachu could be of use to my research." Ash looked to his mother who was busy dusting some portraits by the stairs.

"Go ahead sweetheart." Delia assured her son. "I'm sure that you'd want to see Professor Oak and relax a bit while you're still home."

"Sounds great mom. Thanks." Ash looked over to his friends who all looked just as interested in Daisy's research.

* * *

"So what kind of research is this?" Misty asked as she, Dawn, Brock, Paul and Ash followed Daisy to the Pokémon lab.

"I became interested in working with electric Pokémon after my last contest battle in Hoenn." Daisy started to explain. "After walking away from the battle on the way home, I couldn't help but notice a Zapdos flying across the sky. I tried to follow it, but it got lost in the sky heading towards an unknown island. I decided to head to the unknown island to see if I could find the Zapdos. When I reached the island, I knew it was magical. There were a bunch of electric Pokémon, legendary, normal Pokémon, shiny Pokémon, and any Pokémon you could think of in between. They were all so powerful and beautiful. So I spent a year or so on the island trying to work on this project I had. It's called the Electric Project. I wanted to figure out what the island was like, what makes all the electric Pokémon want to go there. I'm not quite done with research but I wanted to tell my grandfather about it before I headed back."

"That sounds incredible." Paul spoke up. The others looked towards the Pokémon trainer, baffled by Paul's sudden interest.

"I'm still working on it, but I could use some help after I visit my grandfather." Daisy looked to Paul, hoping that he would be interested.

"Are you asking me?" Paul pointed to himself in shock.

"It depends what you think." Daisy winked to Paul, turning around heading into the Pokémon lab. Paul felt his cheeks turn a bright red something that caught Misty's eye. Misty felt herself becoming upset, but she wasn't sure why she even cared that Daisy even acknowledged Paul. The teenagers entered the Pokémon lab to find Eevee licking her paws and grooming her forehead. Daisy's eyes widened with glee, spotting the young Eevee busy with keeping herself clean. "Oh my goodness! She is so cute!" Daisy picked up Eevee without warning which startled the young Pokémon. "She's adorable! I wonder where she came from!" Eevee began to feel overwhelmed with Daisy in her face, so she began to whimper and cry out for her owner.

"Eevee, what's wrong?" Everyone looked up to find Gary running towards them, but when he saw Eevee and Daisy together, Gary's face twisted into irritation. "I should have known it was you."

"Gary, can we please just talk about this?" Daisy asked. Gary wasn't having any of Daisy's _sympathy_.

"I don't need to talk to you. Put Eevee down and let her be." Gary ordered. Daisy placed Eevee on the ground, staring at her brother in the meantime.

"I think there's more tension between them than there is between Ash and I." Paul whispered almost jokingly. Dawn hit Paul in the ribs, which caused him to yell slightly in pain.

"Did that hurt?" Dawn feigned sympathy for Paul.

"Yes." Paul gritted his teeth.

"Good." Dawn's face turned cold towards her boyfriend's rival. She then turned around to see Gary and Daisy looking at one another, interested in what caused them to be this way.

"What's going on here?" A voice that everyone was all too familiar with. Professor Oak looked at both Daisy and Gary, crossing his arms. "Gary, Daisy. I have asked you both repeatedly enough with the quarrelling. You both are old enough to know better than to fight like your children."

"She started it." Gary refused to look at his 'sister'.

"He started it." Daisy crossed her arms.

"And I am ending it now." Professor Oak sternly looked at the two young adults. "No more of this, do you understand me?"

"Yes Grandpa." Gary obliged reluctantly.

"Yes grandfather." Daisy scoffed at her brother, trying to be more polite than he could.

"Very well then." Professor Oak looked to Daisy, now interested in why she was in the lab. "Is there something that you wanted to talk about Daisy?"

"Yes grandfather. I came to talk to you about my research with the Electric Project." Daisy said. Professor Oak looked intrigued and motioned the teenagers into the nearby room. Professor Oak closed the door while Daisy took out her laptop, showing Professor Oak important notes. "I was able to get a perimeter on the island."

"Do you know where the island is?" Professor Oak asked.

"It's off the Sinnoh region heading towards Unova." Daisy answered. Ash and Pikachu looked at one another, turning their heads to the research. The Pokémon Island that was inhabited by nothing than electric Pokémon was fascinating. It was almost intriguing to Ash.

"This sounds splendid Daisy." Professor Oak nodded his head. "But remember, you have to be careful with this kind of information." He instructed.

"If this gets into the wrong hands, then someone could get hurt or possibly killed." Gary spoke from the corner of the room. "I should know, I've been there."

"You mean when you did your research about Eevee?" Dawn questioned.

"Exactly my point." Gary answered Dawn, still not acknowledging his sister.

"You did information on Eevee?" Daisy almost sounded shocked.

"You're not the only one in the family with a brain you know." Gary virulently responded.

"Why are you so harsh all the time?" Daisy looked to her brother.

"So about the Electric Project." Ash tried to intervene to prevent Daisy and Gary from tearing each other's heads off. "What are you trying to figure out now?"

"That's the exciting part." Daisy looked at Ash. "The exciting part is trying to find Zapdos and ask where he came from. There are so many questions and not enough answers. I want to learn everything I can about that particular Zapdos and try to understand what makes it so special."

"But if the island is inhabited with electric Pokémon, how will you find the Zapdos that you're looking for?" Dawn queried.

"It's simple Dawn." Daisy pulled up a picture from her encounter with the Zapdos. "This one has a special marking on his wing."

"It's almost shaped like a heart." Paul looked at the picture with interest.

"Yep." Daisy nodded her head. "And that is how I will know he's the Pokémon I'm looking for."

"How do you know it's a boy? It could be a girl." Gary snorted.

"Gary." Ash looked to his friend, trying to get him to cut down on the attitude. "What your sister is saying is actually really interesting."

"But you just got home to Pallet Town. Do you really want to head off on another adventure without spending any time with your girlfriend?" Gary pointed towards Dawn. "I wish that I could spend time with mine, but she's currently busy in Johto winning her fifth ribbon."

"You have a girlfriend?" Daisy looked at Gary in shock.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Gary looked away from his sister.

"Gary!" Dawn scolded. Gary ignored Dawn and headed out of the room. He needed to get some air. He couldn't be in here much longer.

"I'm sorry about Gary, Daisy." Ash apologized. Daisy gave Ash a considerate look.

"I really want to discover this. It looks incredible." Daisy then looked defeated. "I was hoping that Gary would be interested in this too."

"Well, Gary will come around." Brock assured Daisy. "But this research you're doing is fascinating."

"I just hope that I can finish some of the work here at the lab before heading off the islands to do more research." Daisy said. "It will give you time to think on whether or not you want to come along."

"That sounds fair." Dawn agreed.

"We know Ash isn't one to back away from an adventure." Misty joked pointing towards her friend.

"Well, what can I say?" Ash looked to Daisy. "Adventure is my middle name." Misty and Daisy couldn't help but chuckle at Ash, leaving Dawn feeling uneasy. Dawn was never the jealous type, but being around Ash's friends made her wonder if all of this was too much for her.

* * *

That night, Dawn sat on Ash's couch watching television while Ash brought them some hot chocolate to mull over the day's events. In one day, Ash won the Unova League, came home to a party, found out that Dawn returned to see him and found out about Daisy's research. Ash handed Dawn her cup of hot chocolate, giving her a kiss on her cheek in the process before sitting back down to watch television with her.

"Daisy's research sounds really interesting." Ash looked over at Dawn.

"Yeah, it does." Dawn leaned her head on Ash's shoulder, staring at his brown eyes. "So what was it like in Unova? Traveling all over the place? Competing in gym battles where there were no contests?"

"No contests." Ash let out a grin. "I see you heard about that."

"Yeah…" Dawn took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"It was kind of odd. Also Team Rocket wasn't themselves." Ash gripped his hot chocolate mug.

"What do you mean by that?" Dawn asked.

"They weren't the bumbling idiots you met in Sinnoh." Ash explained. "They've gotten more intense."

"Yikes, I wouldn't want to be near them." Dawn shuddered. She then placed her free hand on Ash's cheek giving him a smile. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." Ash admitted. He leaned in to kiss Dawn but Dawn stopped him, putting a finger on his lips as if she was telling him to be quiet.

"Can I ask you something?" Dawn looked into Ash's eyes.

"Sure, what's wrong?" Ash was concerned that he had done something wrong.

"How do you know Misty and Daisy?" Dawn speculated. "I mean, it seems like you've known them for a long time."

"Well, I knew Misty from when we first started our journey." Ash put his hot chocolate mug on the table and placed his arm around Dawn's shoulder. "Pikachu accidentally fried her bike."

"Really?" Dawn asked. "You mean like he fried _my _bike?"

"Well, it's been a running thing." Ash reddened. "She's actually really awesome and she's a great friend. Daisy I've known since Gary and I were little kids. She never used to hang around with us since we were so into going by the nearby riverbank to catch fish, but occasionally when we would go to Professor Oak's lab, she would tell us stories about the Pokémon that she wished she would meet. She became interested in contests when she decided to travel to Hoenn her first year as a Pokémon trainer. Gary and I were too young to go out on journey's at the time so we'd watch Daisy on television."

"She must be really talented then." Dawn looked in awe.

"Well, she is talented but sometimes she thinks that she's a little more talented than Gary. You see when Gary started his journey and Daisy continued hers, every time that Daisy did something, everyone was so proud. And when Gary did something that was worthy, he felt like no one cared as much as they did when Daisy did the same thing." Ash enlightened.

"So Gary felt neglected?" Dawn questioned.

"Yeah. I think that's why Gary acts the way he acts. Plus with the drama between him and Zoey, he might be more offensive than usual." Ash thought for a moment, tightening his grip around Dawn. "I don't want what's happening to them to happen to us. I actually thought about it every day."

"What do you mean?" Dawn looked at Ash with a jumbled look on her face.

"Well, I don't want us to keep wondering where we are and feeling upset when we don't see one another as much as we should. I sometimes wonder if our separate journeys will tear us apart. I love you and I don't want to lose you." Dawn placed a hand on Ash's cheek, giving Ash a comforting look.

"That's not going to happen to us. All right? We're going to be just fine." Dawn assured him. "We're going to get through whatever obstacle comes through our way. All right?" Dawn pressed her forehead to his, stroking his cheek in the process. Ash slowly nodded his head;

"All right." Ash smiled. "So now that you know about Daisy and Misty are you still jealous?"

"What?" Dawn tried to hide the fact that Ash had noticed her jealousy.

"I noticed you've been tense around them all day." Ash chuckled. "Don't worry, I don't have feelings for Daisy or Misty. Daisy's my best human friend's sister and Misty's just a good friend of mine. I don't think Gary would care if I had dated Daisy, but I like to make sure that I don't step into other people's boundaries."

"Well, that's good to know." Dawn relaxed a bit in Ash's arms.

"You know Dawn, as much as I like Daisy and Misty, there's something that I only like to do with you." Ash slyly suggested.

"And what could that be?" Dawn artfully answered back.

"This." Ash pressed his lips to Dawn's, engulfing her in a sweet kiss. Dawn wrapped her arms around Ash's neck, getting lost in their own little world until—

"Hey, this is not the make out zone." Delia appeared from the kitchen, trying her best to sound stern although she couldn't help but release a small smile. Ash and Dawn separated, blushing at Ash's mother in the process.

"Sorry." Dawn apologized, still feeling her cheeks warm and flushed.

"Yeah, sorry mom." Ash added. Delia nodded her head and went up the stairs but she couldn't help but let out a smile. Ash had found love, something that she was hoping would happen. Dawn leaned back on the sofa looking at Ash with a cunning look.

"That was kind of embarrassing."

"She's my mom." Ash waved it off dismissively. "She's just afraid that we might do something that we'll regret down the road."

"Do you think that there's something that we'll do that we'll regret?" Dawn now turned serious.

"I don't know, but I don't want to do anything that you're not sure of. Also, maybe if we do take that next step soon, it should be when were both ready and can handle the responsibilities." Dawn had never seen Ash so serious before. She took his hand in hers, staring in his eyes.

"So what do you think of the whole Electric Project thing?"

"I think it's interesting." Ash looked excited about it. "I actually wouldn't mind going to see that Zapdos. I have met other Pokémon that you can call legendary."

"Like who?" Dawn grabbed a pillow from the couch and clutched it tightly, looking in his eyes.

"I met Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres once. And I met a Lugia." Ash tried to count them off. "I met so many of them I think that I might not be able to keep count of it all by the time I have children."

"I think you'd make a great dad." Dawn told him honestly. "You'd have so many stories to tell and you're very thoughtful, kind, caring. Actually, you'd be more than what my dad is to me." Ash had never heard Dawn talk about her father before, and he was actually interested to hear what she had to say about him.

"Do you know your father?" Ash questioned.

"I barely remember him." Dawn admitted. "My mom won't talk about him, it's almost as if he never existed. But the thing is I want to know more about him, what he does, who he is as a person. I want to just have that one chance to look into his eyes and finally see what he looks like and ask him why he left after all these years."

"Dawn, I know you want to know about him but maybe there's a reason why he left after all this time." Ash tried to reason with her. "Maybe he's out there doing some secret project that he couldn't tell your mother about and she made him choose between you or the project."

"Ash, I get what you're saying, I do." Dawn looked out Ash's living room window, trying to piece everything together. "It's just that I think that my father could be out there. And I want to search for him."

"But you wouldn't know where to start." Ash said.

"You're right, but at least I'd be one step closer to figuring out who my dad is." Dawn sounded determined. "And I need your help to find him."

"You want me to help you find your dad?" Ash repeated.

"Yes, I need you to help me find him. It would mean the world to me if you were there if I found him. I want him to see the boy that I love."

"It would mean that much to you?" Ash asked.

"It would mean the world to me to have you there by my side." Dawn wrapped her arm around Ash's neck.

"Well, we can try but I can't promise that we'll find him." Ash gave it some thought before looking at his girlfriend.

"That was all I wanted." Dawn leaned up to kiss her boyfriend but Ash placed a finger on her lips.

"What if my mom comes in here again?" He spoke after a moment of silence.

"Fine." Dawn pecked Ash's lips before looking back at the T.V. Ash wasn't sure if they were going to be able to find Dawn's father, but he was becoming more and more interested in finding out what the Electric Project was—and he was hoping that Dawn would be too.


	3. A Myth Ends Up Being Reality

**A/N: Here's chapter three of the story! Enjoy guys! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, but I wish I did.**

* * *

The next morning, Ash awoke on the couch remembering that he fell asleep there the night before after talking to Dawn. He turned his head next to him, but he noticed that Dawn was missing. Ash wondered where Dawn could have wandered off to; it wasn't like her to walk off without saying anything. Ash smelt something coming from the kitchen. He got up from the sofa, walked into the kitchen to find Dawn scrambling eggs and pouring orange juice into glass cups. Ash leaned against the door, a smile on his face. _She even looks beautiful when she's cooking, _Ash thought to himself. Dawn turned her head to see Ash looking at her as if this was a daydream. Dawn couldn't help but let out a blush, turning back to the food and cooking it. She looked over to Ash, wondering what he was thinking.

"Good morning." Dawn walked over to give Ash a soft kiss. Ash removed his lips from hers, staring into her beautiful blue eyes.

"Someone's been up early this morning." Ash chuckled.

"Yeah, I decided that maybe I should cook for us." Dawn turned around going to tend to the food on the stove. "It would be a good idea to give your mother a break."

"Yeah, my mother is always cooking. Either her or Mr. Mime." Ash admitted. Dawn turned back around with two plates in her hands, motioning for Ash to sit down.

"Come on, we can talk over breakfast." Dawn put the food down with a smile.

"Talk or make out?" Ash slyly suggested. Dawn sat down at the table holding her fork in her hand.

"I'm holding a fork. Does it look like I want to make out right now?" Dawn pointed to the chair, meaning that Ash probably should have sat down and obeyed his girlfriend.

"I think it's a good idea for us to sit and eat." Ash quickly said. Dawn started eating her eggs and drinking her orange juice when a knock on the door startled the teenagers.

"Who do you think that could be?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know." Ash admitted. Ash got up from the table to get the door, revealing it to be a disheveled Gary. Ash was shocked to find Gary looking unkempt, he couldn't remember the last time he had seen Gary that way. Actually, he _never_ saw Gary look so unkempt in his life. "Gary? Is everything okay?" Dawn looked from the living room, walking over to Gary with a concerned look.

"Gary, you don't look well. Come inside and we'll make you some breakfast." Dawn offered. Gary took Dawn's offer and entered Ash's home, going into the kitchen and sitting down. Ash had to have figured something had to have happened. He walked to the kitchen, sitting beside his friend, patting his shoulder.

"Gary? Did something happen?" Ash asked. Dawn placed orange juice next to Gary as Gary gulped it down.

"I couldn't sleep all night." Gary said. Dawn and Ash noticed the bags under Gary's eyes and the fact that Gary didn't even bother to do his hair.

"Gee, I wonder what gave us that idea." Dawn sarcastically said, but Ash didn't look as amused.

"Did something happen between you and Daisy?" Ask asked. Gary looked at Ash and Dawn shaking his head.

"No, it had to do with what happened between me and Zoey." Gary fiddled with his fingers. Dawn and Ash gave each other a worried look before looking back at their friend.

"What happened between you and Zoey?" Dawn became afraid to ask.

"She and I figured that this whole long distance relationship wasn't working." Gary said. He felt his throat lump up, trying to get the words out. "So we broke up." Ash and Dawn stood there in shock. They were sure that Gary and Zoey loved each other. What went wrong?

"What? What happened to staying together even though you were apart?" Dawn stood up, looking almost upset.

"It's easy for you and Ash, not for me and Zoey." Gary croaked out.

"Gary, I'm so sorry." Dawn apologized.

"Yeah, so am I man." Ash didn't know what to say to his friend. He was sure that Zoey was the one for him. What caused Zoey to come unexpectedly and break up with him? It didn't make sense.

"Well, now you know where I'll spend the rest of my life. Under the covers in my room." Gary looked to his friends.

"You're not going to throw a pity party!" Dawn crossed her arms.

"We won't allow it." Ash said.

"So what are you suggesting that we do today? I just feel like putting on sad music until I cry." Gary sounded disheartened.

"That's not the Gary I know." Ash looked as if he was getting angry with his friend.

"So what do you want me to do Ash? I lost everything I ever cared about! Zoey doesn't want to be with me, Daisy's here to steal my thunder and I practically have nothing to do at the lab! I might as well go home and just cry."

"I have an idea on how to cheer you up." Dawn said. Gary looked over to Dawn, not sure where she was going at.

"What's going to cheer me up? The only one that can cheer me up is Zoey." Gary stood up from the chair, heading towards the door.

"Stop right there." Ash ordered his friend. Gary stopped in his tracks, looking at Ash and Dawn with confusion. "If you need something to do, then why don't you help your sister?"

"Help my sister?" Gary scorned. "Why would I want to help her look good? My grandfather already thinks she's better than me."

"Professor Oak doesn't think that." Ash shook his head.

"Well, he might as well say it!" Gary looked as if he was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown.

"Gary, aren't you just the least bit curious about what the Electric Project is about?" Dawn asked her friend. Gary had to admit, he was interested to see what Daisy had conjured up as a part of her research, but he was too stubborn to push his pride away to see if his sister could use some help.

"I'm not curious at all." Gary fibbed.

"Gary, we know that you care about your sister and you at least want to see what the Electric Project is about." Ash knew his friend all too well. He wasn't going to believe Gary's pathetic lie. "And it could keep your mind off of Zoey for a bit."

"You really think that me helping my sister is going to help me get over Zoey?" Gary didn't understand why Ash and Dawn were so into trying to get him to help Daisy. It's not like she asked for his help.

"Yep, helping Daisy will help you." Ash guaranteed. "She also said that she wants you to help her with her research."

"Daisy said that?" Gary questioned.

"Yeah, she really wants your insight." Dawn patted her friend on the shoulder. Gary looked over from Dawn to Ash not sure if he should believe his friends, until he gave a look of defeat. He was going to have to face Daisy at some point. He might as well be of some use to her now.

"All right, I see your point." Gary started to head out the door.

"Where are you going?" Ash asked.

"I'm going home to take a shower, and then I'm heading out to the lab to see Daisy." Gary closed the door behind him. Dawn and Ash looked out the door, not sure what just happened. Ash headed up the stairs towards the bathroom, Dawn noticing that he was leaving her alone in the living room.

"Where are you going?" Dawn enquired her boyfriend.

"Off to take a shower and get to the Pokémon lab before Gary. I can't have a sibling cat fight in the lab, now can I?" Ash walked off to the bathroom, Dawn feeling her heart drop a bit. She had made them breakfast, and all Ash could think about was the safety of Gary's sister? Dawn squeezed the spoon that she had in her hand, not noticing that Pikachu was watching her every movement.

"Pika, Pi?" Pikachu wondered. Dawn looked shocked towards Pikachu, dumfounded by what he just said.

"I am not jealous Pikachu." Dawn denied, but deep down she really was jealous. She was jealous that Ash could have feelings for Daisy or maybe even Misty—and that he would leave and forget all about her.

"Pikachu." Pikachu shook his head, refusing to believe Dawn's lie.

"I am not jealous, so can we please drop it!" Dawn argued back with the Pokémon.

"What's going on down here?" Dawn and Pikachu looked up to see Ash looking down at them. "Is everything okay?" Dawn looked to Pikachu, a smirk forming on her face as she turned back to Ash.

"No need to worry Ash. Everything's fine. I'll just go to the other bathroom and get ready so we can go to the Pokémon lab." With that, Dawn walked down the hallway. Ash looked to his partner, his face twisting in confusion.

"But…we don't have a second bathroom."

* * *

Daisy continued to work on the Electric Project on the computer, not noticing that in the distance, Paul was looking at Daisy with interest. Paul had been standing there for the last twenty minutes, trying to figure out if he should walk in the room and speak with Daisy, or if he should continue to stare at her from afar. He wasn't usually so shy around girls, so he wondered why he was feeling that way with Daisy. Watching Daisy type on the computer, researching made Paul want to know more about her. He never felt that way about another trainer or coordinator. He had to wonder if he had a crush on Daisy, but he thought it was ludicrous.

"Good morning Paul." A voice from behind him said. Paul turned around to find Misty standing there with an Azurill in her hand. Paul looked down at the water Pokémon before turning his head back towards Daisy, his brooding manner appearing.

"What do you want?" Paul questioned.

"Someone seems grumpy this morning." Misty looked at Paul, her face turning into disappointment.

"Are you kidding? This is me in a good mood." Paul let out a smirk before turning back to Daisy.

"Why do you keep looking at Daisy for?" Misty pointed to Gary's sister.

"I'm interested in her research. Can I ask you why you're here?" Paul stuffed his hands in his pockets, his eyes still locked on Daisy.

"Because Ash told me to come here early to prevent Gary from attacking Daisy." Misty stated in a know it all voice.

"Gee, are you always this defensive?" Paul released a resonating chuckle.

"So what if I am?!" Misty practically yelled. Daisy turned her head to Paul and Misty seeing them into an argument. She chuckled, turning back to her work.

"Glad to see that you two are here early." Daisy continued to type on the computer. Paul and Misty looked over at Daisy, looking embarrassed.

"See what you did carrot top? Now Daisy knows were here." Paul hissed at Misty.

"Did you just call me carrot top?!" Misty screeched. Azurill gave Paul a stare, siding with its owner.

"So what if I did?" Paul glared at Misty.

"Guys, as much as you are aggressively flirting with each other and I enjoy it, I have work to do." Daisy turned to them smiling.

"Wh—what?!" Paul blurted out, his face expression changing from something other than aggressive for the first time since he arrived at the lab.

"We're not flirting…" Misty sounded defensive.

"Sure you're not. I've seen this all the time. I should know." Daisy looked back at the computer, gathering some more details together.

"Well, we're not flirting with each other." Paul looked away from Misty. "Why would I be interested in her anyway?"

"You'd be surprised Paul." Daisy answered. "You secretly might be impressed that you're in the same room as a Pokémon gym leader but you're so busy hiding your feelings behind your tough exterior that you come out as rude and defensive."

"I am not rude." Paul clenched his fists into a tight ball.

"But you are defensive." Daisy pointed out.

"She's got you there." Misty grinned towards Paul. Paul didn't want to talk anymore nonsense, so to distract everyone else, he decided to look at the screen to see if there was any more information on the Electric Project.

"So is there anything else that you figured out about the unknown island with the inhabited electric Pokémon?" Paul asked.

"I'm still working on trying to find that Zapdos. That Zapdos is the key to the entire Electric Project, along with the other electric Pokémon that are on the island." Daisy answered. "But to find Zapdos is going to be tough. It likes to move all over the place, and there's no way of knowing where it will go next."

"Then if you wanted to look for the Zapdos then you should have microchipped it to know it's next move." A voice said from the door. Neither Paul nor Misty answered Daisy's thought, meaning that someone new was giving them information. Daisy looked over to the door to find Gary with his lab coat on, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Gary?" Daisy sounded shocked.

"Yes, I'm here, can we move on now?" Gary rolled his eyes, entering the room.

"What are you doing here?" Daisy stood up from the chair, walking over to her brother.

"I'm here to help you with your dumb project, don't know why I'm doing it though." Gary's voice sounded acrid.

"Someone's in a worse mood than Paul here." Misty pointed towards the Sinnoh trainer. Paul rolled his eyes at Misty's comment.

"Well, I'd be in a happier mood if I didn't get my heart broken into a million pieces." Gary answered, his tone sounding harsh.

"Oh no, Gary what happened?" Daisy tried to sound sympathetic. Gary shrugged off his sister, heading to the computer to see what information Daisy had come up with. Gary sat down in Daisy's chair, scrolling through the information, noticing a small camera picture in one of the files.

"Daisy, what's this?" Gary clicked the picture icon, only to find the icon bringing up the information about the islands. There were multiple pictures of only electric type Pokémon, something that made Gary curious.

"Those are all the pictures that I gathered from the island where the electric Pokémon live." Daisy answered. "Something wrong?"

"Why do you have so many pictures from the islands, even from yesterday…you're standing right here." Gary pointed at her.

"Because I left a small portable camera in one of the trees on the island so I could continue taking pictures even though I wasn't there." Daisy shrugged her shoulders, not seeing what the big deal was. Gary quickly logged out of Daisy's information, logging into his own work account. After finding Daisy's research password proof, he attempted to crack her password. Luckily, the password hint helped him.

"Seriously Daisy?!" Gary looked to his sister and back at the camera. "Your password hint is Pokémon #25 and three numbers."

"That's easy even I could figure it out." Paul said.

"Oh really?" Daisy turned around, crossing her arms at Paul. "Then what's my password?"

"Pikachu123." Gary and Paul spoke in unison. Daisy looked dumfounded at the two teenagers, turning back to her work.

"And what's the problem with that?" Daisy asked.

"If I can crack into your files and if Paul can crack your password then anybody can. This information could easily fall into the wrong hands." Gary scolded his sister.

"All right, all right. I'll just change the password." Daisy quickly changed the password to get Gary to cease his nagging. "Done." Gary and Paul turned to one another, unsure if that was going to be the end to their problem. "Now, can we get back to work? I want to finish this so I can tell grandpa about it." Gary got out of Daisy's chair, heading towards the door. "Gary, where are you going?"

"Call me when you get more information." Gary didn't look at his sister, closing the door on the way out.

"He's been storming out of the room a lot lately." Paul turned to Misty, pointing out the obvious.

"I wonder if there's more to Gary and Daisy's rivalry than we know…" Misty began to sound interested.

"Meddling, aren't we carrot top?" Paul chuckled slightly.

"Are you going to keep calling me carrot top?" Misty asked, not looking amused.

"Yep, it's more fun." Paul walked out the door, a small smile appearing on his face. His smile quickly vanished when he bumped into Ash and Dawn. "Ouch! Watch where you're going!" Paul yelled at his rival.

"Sorry, sheesh." Ash rubbed his shoulder where Paul had bumped into him. "Is Gary in there?"

"No, he left." Paul stuffed his hands in his pocket, walking past Ash and Dawn.

"I wonder where Gary went." Dawn wondered.

"Let's head inside the lab. Maybe Daisy could use some help with her research." Ash headed into the room, Dawn reluctantly following.

"Pika, Pi…" Pikachu said in a singsong voice.

"I am not jealous!" Dawn yelled.

"Dawn?" Ash turned to his girlfriend and Pikachu.

"Um, everything's fine. Let's go and speak to Daisy." Dawn pulled Ash by the hand, leading him to the lab. Ash chuckled slightly at Dawn, a smile growing on his face. _Even when she's jealous, she's still the most amazing girl in the world. _

* * *

Trip's eyes were full of anger, revenge and jealousy at what had taken place the day before. He was humiliated in front of everyone on live television, all because Ash wanted to be all high and mighty. He continued to walk along an abandoned dirt road, his Serperior in tow. Trip once heard that whom he was searching for was only a legend, but he wanted to be the one to prove that it was true. As soon as Trip stopped along the road, he noticed a gigantic yellow ship with a thunderbolt sign on it. After everything being a legend, it turned out that they were real; Team Electric existed. Trip made his way to the door of the ship, interested in getting down to business. Trip knocked on the door, hoping that someone would come so he could extract vengeance. A man opened the ship's door, staring at the teenage trainer with a confused look.

"What do you want?" The man asked, his cobalt eyes glaring at the trainer.

"My name is Trip." Trip introduced himself, wondering why the man seemed familiar. He had dark blue hair, cobalt eyes and his facial features looked similar to someone he had seen in the past. He quickly pushed that aside, his face turning serious. "I heard that you are the infamous Team Electric, the ones that are apart of legend."

"Yes, that's us." The man crossed his arms. "Give me one good reason why we shouldn't capture and torture you."

"Because, I have something that you might want." Trip released a devilish grin. He pulled out his camera, skimming through the pictures until he found the picture he was looking for. In it was a Pikachu that was using Electro Ball. And the trainer for that said Pikachu? Ash…

"I saw that Pikachu on television." The man raised his eyebrows in interest. "He was battling in the Unova League against you."

"Yeah, and I want you to take care of him for my plan of revenge. He embarrassed me in front of a gigantic crowd. I just want to give him a scare." Trip focused on the man.

"You want to give him a scare, huh?" The man moved to the side, allowing Trip to enter the room. "You want to see something interesting?" Trip quickly nodded his head, entering the lair of the secret team. Trip looked at one of the computers, files of a secret project on the computer.

"Did you conduct this research?" Trip asked. The man scoffed, sitting down in the chair.

"Us, conduct research?" The man gave a fake laugh. "That's a good one. You don't know how easy it is to steal data from the greatest Professor's computers. Meet the Electric Project. Apparently on some island, there's a Zapdos that guards the most powerful electric Pokémon. The only issue is that we have trouble infiltrating the island."

"I think that I can be of service." Trip said. He looked through his camera from another picture. He held it to the man, trying to see if his gut was right. "Do you know this girl?" The man took the camera, looking at the picture with interest, his eyes widening. He looked back at Trip, not sure if he should answer.

"Why do you want to know if I know this girl?" The man questioned, throwing the camera back to Trip.

"It's just you look a lot like her, and it would be the perfect chance for you to see her and to get to know her better." Trip had another agenda on his mind. If they needed a powerful electric Pokémon to battle Zapdos to get to the other Pokémon then the girl could be the key to it all.

"What's your angle here kid?" The man shrugged his shoulders.

"You need to get past Zapdos in order to steal all the other Pokémon that are there. I was thinking, why don't you attempt to steal a powerful electric Pokémon to fight Zapdos in order to get into the island. You can build a machine that can tap the true nature of a Pokémon's power." Trip's theory began to interest the man. The man stroked his chin deep in thought, thinking about the Pikachu, the girl, everything.

"That sounds brilliant." The man stood up from the chair, turning towards the young trainer. "I like you're thinking. The best part about stealing information is knowing where we could find those punks."

"How about you go after the girl—and I go after the Pikachu." Trip cackled, Serperior standing behind him, unsure of this was the best idea. If he had disagreed with his trainer, who knows what would have happened. Instead, Serperior was faced with trying to find where his loyalties were. With Trip, or with keeping the world safe?

* * *

At lunchtime, Dawn walked around the Pokémon lab, trying to find where Ash had gotten. She couldn't help but admire all of the rooms in the Pokémon lab, wondering what it would be like to be a researcher here. Dawn was so into her thoughts that she didn't notice Professor Oak standing before her with multiple crates. Dawn looked surprised to see the great Pokémon professor, so she backed away for a moment, not sure if she should say anything.

"Dawn, good to see you." Professor Oak smiled at her.

"It's great to see you too Professor." Dawn grabbed one of the crates, helping the professor carry them into the nearest room. "I believe you need help with these."

"Thank you Dawn, that's awfully kind of you." Professor Oak and Dawn placed the crates in one of the rooms, releasing a sigh. "Gary was supposed to help me with these, but I haven't seen him all day. I wonder if all is all right with him."

"He's a little out of it." Dawn admitted. "Zoey broke up with him, so he's a little upset."

"Is that so?" Professor Oak looked a bit shocked. "Gary didn't say anything to me about it."

"He showed up to Ash's house this morning, looking out of it. He's helping Daisy with her research, at least that's what Paul said." Dawn explained.

"Gary, helping Daisy?" Professor Oak looked as if he needed to sit down. "This is going to take a while for me to process."

"He's not helping her because he wants to. It's just to get his mind off Zoey." Dawn tried to make sure Professor Oak didn't get too excited.

"Oh, well I still think that it's nice of Gary to help Daisy. Unfortunately, they've been at each other's throats ever since Daisy started her Pokémon journey."

"Is there a reason why?" Dawn became interested.

"I'm not quite sure. But before they got involved with Pokémon, they were the best of friends." Professor Oak brought out a photo from when Gary and Daisy were younger. Dawn couldn't help but chuckle at the photo. She had always been curious to see Gary as a little kid, and looking at the photo made her realize just how adorable Gary had been.

"Aww, Gary and Daisy look so cute there." Dawn gushed.

"Yeah, that was the best of times. I don't know how I'm going to get those two to get along again. I miss the old times where they would come to the lab and play with the starter Pokémon here. Now they're in two different worlds." Professor Oak sounded a bit down, thinking about his grandchildren.

"They'll find their way back to each other. When they need each other the most, that's when they'll realize it." Dawn assured the Professor.

"I hope that you're right." Professor Oak smiled at the young coordinator.

"Professor Oak?" Dawn looked at the professor.

"Yes, Dawn?"

"Do you know where I could find Ash and Pikachu? I was actually on my way to look for them."

"I saw Ash in the field with his Pokémon just a while ago. You could check if he's still there. I think Misty was with him." Dawn felt herself tense up, knowing that Misty was with Ash. She shook off her feelings, turning towards the door.

"Thanks Professor Oak." Dawn nodded her head, walking towards the fields connected to the Pokémon center. As soon as Dawn reached outside, she noticed Ash and Pikachu training—and Misty was helping him. Dawn couldn't help but feel a bit troubled. Ash usually trained with _her_ and now he was training with Misty? Dawn was so wrapped in her jealousy that she didn't notice that she was becoming wrapped _literally, _by a Bulbasaur's vines. "Hey! Let go of me!" Dawn shouted. Ash and Misty turned their heads to find Bulbasaur holding Dawn, only wanting to play with her.

"Bulbasaur, did you want to play?" Ash chuckled. Bulbasaur turned to his trainer, nodding his head quickly. Ash walked over to the Pokémon, a smile on his face. "How about you let Dawn go first and then ask her to play with you, okay?" Bulbasaur quickly did what his trainer asked him.

"Bulbasaur." Bulbasaur looked to Dawn with a smile. Dawn looked down at the Bulbasaur, a smile emitting from her lips.

"Did you just want to play little fella?" Dawn patted Bulbasaur's head. Bulbasaur quickly nodded his head, which prompted Dawn to take out some Pokéball's from her back pocket. "All right then, Buneary, Piplup, Pachirisu, Mamoswine, Quilava, Togekiss come and play with Bulbasaur!" Dawn released her Pokémon from the Pokéball, all of them turning towards Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur waved towards the Pokémon, running off in which Buneary and Quilava quickly ran after him. As the other Pokémon followed Buneary and Quilava's lead, Dawn couldn't help but laugh at her Pokémon. _They are an interesting bunch, aren't they_, Dawn thought to herself. Dawn felt Ash wrap his arm around her shoulder, smiling out at the scene ahead.

"Sorry about Bulbasaur. He was probably a little lonely." Ash turned to Dawn.

"How could he be lonely? There are ten million Pokémon around here." Dawn looked around at the vast amounts of Pokémon. There couldn't have been a way Bulbasaur was lonely.

"Bulbasaur doesn't play with them much. I guess he just wanted to make some new friends." Ash shrugged his shoulders. "He seems to like Quilava and Buneary a lot though." Ash pointed towards his Pokémon who was currently carrying Buneary and Quilava with his vines.

"Maybe we should give the Pokémon a break; they have been training for a while." Misty walked up to the couple with a smile.

"Sounds like a plan. Besides, we need to eat." Ash chuckled.

"You're always hungry." Dawn playfully rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Tell me about it." Misty looked over to Ash. Dawn looked over to Misty, and the next thing the two girls knew they were laughing over the one main thing they had in common—Ash.

"Great, just what I need. The both of you to gang up on me because I'm hungry." Ash sounded a bit annoyed.

"Lighten up." Dawn turned to Ash.

"Hello, is anyone here?" A voice said from behind them. Dawn, Ash and Misty turned their heads, interested to see the figure. Dawn and Ash looked shocked while Misty looked muddled.

"I don't believe it." Ash said loud enough for Dawn and Misty to hear.

"Zoey?!" Dawn sounded perplexed. Zoey stood before them, waving over to the three trainers.

"So that's the Zoey that Gary was talking about?" Misty looked to Dawn.

"Yep." Dawn nodded her head. "Zoey, what are you doing here? I thought you were in Johto."

"I needed to talk to Gary." Zoey's face turned serious, here for strictly business. "I saw something coming this way and I needed to warn him about something."

"What is it?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Have you heard the myth about Team Electric?" Zoey looked to the three trainers.

"Yeah? What about them?" Dawn didn't understand where Zoey was getting at. Ash and Misty had no idea what Zoey or Dawn were talking about. Who was this Team Electric?

"It turns out that they're not a myth." Zoey said. "They're real, dangerous—and they're coming towards here."


	4. It Can't Be A Coincidence, Can It?

**A/N: First off before we get into the story, I would like to give a shoutout to CIOP970 and biginferno for leaving very helpful (and lovely) reviews! Here's a brand new chapter of my story, so I hope you enjoy! **

**Another thing, I'm beginning to get a little stuck on where to go from here, so if anyone has any ideas for the story don't be shy to share them. If your idea is chosen, I _will_ credit you for the idea. Now, onto the story! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Just merely a fan. :)**

* * *

"I don't get it! Who's Team Electric?" Ash asked as Zoey led Dawn, Misty, Ash and Pikachu inside the Pokémon laboratory. "And how come we've never heard of them?"

"Team Electric was supposed to be one of the most elite organizations, bent on trying to destroy the world by using the power of the most powerful electric Pokémon out there." Zoey explained, leading the teenagers down the hallway. "There's some more information on them and I think that Gary might remember something about them."

"Wait a minute; Gary knows something about Team Electric?" Dawn slowed down her pace, looking at Zoey with interest.

"Gary read about it in one of the books that were in the Pokémon lab." Zoey explained, looking inside every room to see if she could find the young Pokémon researcher. "Gary told me about it once. I just hope that he'd be willing to talk to me."

"That reminds me, why did you break up with Gary anyway?" Dawn quizzed. Zoey turned around looking confused.

"What are you talking about? I didn't break up with Gary." Zoey raised her eyebrow, trying to understand where Dawn got such a ludicrous thought.

"It's just that Gary came to the house earlier this morning and said that you two spoke, and that you broke up." Ash tried to enlighten.

"Yeah, Gary and I did talk about how our relationship becoming really difficult because of all the travel, and then he hung up. He didn't let me finish talking." Zoey looked troubled.

"He thought you were going to break up with him so he hung up on you." Dawn looked to Ash and Misty, looking back at Zoey.

"Yes, but I wasn't going to break up with him. I was going to tell him I missed him." Zoey looked into one of the rooms, hoping to find Gary. "I hope he's all right. How did he look this morning?"

"He came to my house looking like a nervous wreck." Ash thought back to the morning's events, shaking his head. "I had never seen him that way before and I've known Gary almost all my life."

"He must really be hurt." Zoey ran a hand through her hair, thinking about Gary until Misty cleared her throat.

"So what about Team Electric? We need to find Gary so he can tell us more about them. He's the only one that knows about them." Misty looked to the others. They turned around and right in front of them as if it was magic, was none other than Gary Oak. Gary looked up from his clipboard to find Zoey standing in front of him. Gary dropped the clipboard in surprise and misperception. Why was Zoey in the lab? And why did she look worried? Gary then remembered that she was the one that broke up with him, heading down to pick up the clipboard so he could continue on his merry way.

"Gary." Zoey said. Gary looked up at Zoey, not sure if he could continue on his way. Gary finally crossed his arms to look at Zoey.

"What do you want?" Gary sounded hurt.

"I need to talk to you." Zoey placed a hand on Gary's shoulder, but Gary quickly shrugged Zoey off.

"Haven't we _talked_ enough?" Gary started to walk past Zoey until Dawn turned around with her hands on her hips.

"Gary, what do you know about Team Electric?" Dawn questioned. Gary turned back around towards Dawn, suddenly shaken.

"Team Electric?" Gary walked back to the crowd Pokémon trainers. "What about them, I thought they were a myth."

"They're not a myth Gary. I saw their ship coming towards Kanto so I got on the ferry to come here to warn you." Zoey had a suppliant look on her face, hoping for Gary to reason with her. Gary's face softened towards Zoey, thinking for a moment before waving for them to follow him.

"Come on, let's go to Grandpa's study. There's a book about them." Gary led the group towards the study on the second floor. Gary opened the door to the study, the others taking in the view. "Be careful in here though. Grandpa is getting a new shipment of starter Pokémon, so there might be paperwork all over the…" Gary didn't get very far in explaining as Ash and Pikachu slipped on a piece of paper and fell on the floor. Gary turned back around, letting out a sigh. "Place."

"Are you okay, Ash?" Dawn questioned. Misty started to help Ash up from the ground, but Dawn's eyes furrowed, grabbing Ash's other hand to help him up as well.

"I'll be fine as soon as I'm not pulled in two different directions." Ash looked from Dawn to Misty, who were still holding his arms in different directions.

"Oh, sorry." Misty let go of Ash's arm while Dawn kept a protective grip on Ash's other arm.

"Let's see if I can find the book." Gary started to look through the shelves to find the book about Team Electric. While he continued to look, he didn't notice Paul entering the study, staring at the other trainers in the room.

"What are you guys doing in here?" Paul asked, interested to see what they were doing.

"We're looking for something." Misty quickly answered, not looking at the serious trainer.

"What are you looking for?" Paul crossed his arms, staring at Misty.

"It's not any of your business." Misty imitated Paul. Paul growled towards Misty, not sure why he even bothered with her.

"We're looking for information on Team Electric." Ash looked to his rival, clarifying for him.

"Team Electric? I thought they were just a myth." Paul's eyes widened.

"Well, they're not." Misty answered.

"And what makes you think that they're real carrot top? Did you pretend to see their ship and decided to cry wolf?" Paul teased Misty.

"I saw their ship." Zoey looked at Paul, looking disconcerted. "And It's true!"

"I didn't say that you were lying." Paul looked away from the others.

"I found the book!" Gary exclaimed. Ash and Dawn let out a sigh, not sure how much longer they were going to have to put up with Paul, Zoey and Misty arguing back and forth. Ash and Dawn walked over to Gary who opened the book to a page that had post it notes on it. He scanned through the chapter, handing the book over to Dawn. "That's all the information about Team Electric."

"Is this like some type of story of how they formed?" Ash looked over Dawn's shoulder, reading the page.

"Yep." Gary nodded his head while Dawn continued to flip through the pages.

"How about you explain to the rest of us who can't see the book?" Paul sounded unreceptive.

"All right, fine." Gary took a chair from one of the tables to sit down, instructing the others to come towards him so he could tell the story. The others sat down, looking into Gary's eyes while Ash and Dawn continued to look at the manuscript. "You know how there are other teams out there that want to harm Pokémon in different segments of the Pokémon world, right? In Kanto, there's Team Rocket. In Hoenn, there's Team Aqua and Team Magma and in Sinnoh there's Team Galactic. But one of the most known and dangerous ones are Team Electric. It was rumored that they were responsible for the creation of the most powerful Pikachu the world has ever seen." That segment received interest from Pikachu who jumped from Ash's shoulder to run over to Gary. Pikachu sat in Gary's lap while looking intently at the Pokémon researcher, indicating that he could continue with the story. "The most powerful Pikachu was able to destroy oceans, manipulate any Pokémon and had control of all over the Pokémon world. The Pikachu destroying the world wasn't by choice, Team Electric had to do with it. That was when a Zapdos came into the picture. Zapdos knew that the Pikachu was in terrible danger; its power was sucking the life out of the poor creature. Zapdos gathered as many electric Pokémon as he could in order to take on Team Electric. Zapdos and the powerful electric Pokémon were able to take down Team Electric, and they went into hiding, the powerful Pikachu going with Zapdos to the island. Team Electric was believed to have disbanded since then, going into hiding where they wouldn't hurt another Pokémon again. That was the story that my grandpa told me about Team Electric. It was actually an awesome bedtime story."

"Wait, so that was the bedtime story that your grandfather told you?" Paul rolled his eyes. "So what makes us think that Team Electric is real?"

"There's a picture of the ship in the book." Gary turned to Ash and Dawn who were staring at one of the pages. "Guys, could I borrow the book for a moment." Dawn walked over to Gary, handing him the book while Gary scanned through the pages. He stopped at the page that he was certain was going to make all the difference, then looked at Zoey forcing himself to look into her eyes. "Zoey, was this the ship that you saw?" Gary showed the picture of the ship to Zoey, noticing her eyes going wide.

"That's the ship I saw." Zoey looked worried.

"Wait a minute." Everyone turned to Ash who was now in the same worried state as everyone else. "Didn't Daisy say that she was doing research on the Zapdos on the unknown island?"

"That's the Electric Project." Dawn nodded her head towards Ash.

"What if Team Electric is coming here because they somehow know about Daisy's research?" Ash turned to Gary, hoping that he would say something. Gary closed the book, not wanting to answer Ash's question.

"Why does it have to be Daisy's research?" Gary clenched the book in his hand.

"Gary, you've been a Pokémon researcher longer than Daisy." Zoey told him. "Did she make some rookie mistakes that you noticed?"

"She left a small camera on the island and she made her password to her work the easiest password in the world." Gary sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"How easy?" Ash asked.

"Pikachu123." Paul, Misty and Gary answered in unison. Pikachu's ears twitched, looking back at his trainer.

"We better go and warn Daisy, right Gary?" Ash tried to coax Gary to do the right thing and to warn Daisy of the danger that was coming for her. Gary looked at Ash, not sure if he should until—his conscience got to him.

"Agh…fine." Gary put the book down on the chair as he stood up. "But you're coming with me so I don't end up killing her."

"You're not going to hurt your sister." Ash crossed his arms, looking at his friend. Gary looked to Zoey, hurt showing in his eyes. He closed his eyes to walk out of the room to warn his sister of the dangers ahead. Ash looked at Zoey, letting out a soft smile. "Zoey, why don't you go with Gary? He needs someone right now."

"I doubt I'm the person he wants to see." Zoey sighed.

"Just go with him. He'll realize how much he needs you." Ash said. Zoey nodded her head, listening to Ash's instructions while the others followed her out. Ash was about to follow the others out of the room, but noticed that Dawn was interested in the book. Dawn picked up the book and sat down in the chair Gary recently occupied, flipping through the pages. "Dawn, is something wrong?" Ash walked over to his girlfriend, crouching down so he could look into her eyes. Dawn looked up at Ash then pointed to the book.

"There's something in here that I need to see. I just have a strange feeling." Dawn softly said. She continued to look through the book, interested in the details. She flipped the page, then let out a gasp. She wasn't sure what she was looking at, but there was something about the man in the picture that looked familiar.

"What? What is it?" Ash began to sound concerned. Dawn placed a hand on Ash's cheek then used her free hand to turn the book towards him. Ash looked down at the picture of the man in the book. He looked up to Dawn then back down to the picture. The man did look a bit familiar, but Ash wasn't sure where she was getting at.

"Doesn't he look familiar to you?" Dawn wondered.

"I don't know, are we supposed to know him?" Ash adjusted his cap, looking at Dawn.

"You're not…but maybe I'm supposed to know him." Dawn continued to stare at the photo, thinking to herself. "I just feel some type of connection." Before Dawn could ponder over it much longer, Ash closed the book.

"How can you feel some type of connection to that guy? He's the bad guy." Ash shook his head.

"I don't know, I guess I just do." Dawn stood up from the chair, holding the book in her hands.

"Come on, we might want to warn Professor Oak about Team Electric." Ash started to head out the door with Pikachu following. Dawn however stared at the book, still interested in the man in the picture. She opened the book to stare at the man's picture once again, reading the captioning on the bottom of the page.

"Lucius." Dawn read softly to herself.

"Did you say something?" Ash turned back to Dawn, unsure if Dawn had spoken.

"Oh, nothing." Dawn shook her head. Ash walked out of the room leaving Dawn to her thoughts. She ripped out the page from the book and placed it in her pocket. _Gary won't mind if I take this page, I'm sure of it_, Dawn thought to herself, following Ash out the door from the Pokémon study.

* * *

"Are you sure that Team Electric is coming here?" Professor Oak seemed bothered.

"I saw the ship on my way from Johto." Zoey answered.

"Oh dear, then we must prepare to keep the electric Pokémon safe." Professor Oak started heading down to where he kept the Pokémon.

"You have electric Pokémon in here?" Paul pulled out his Pokédex, scanning an article about Professor Oak's lab.

"As a matter of fact, I do. That's how Ash has Pikachu. I was watching some electric Pokémon around the time that Ash began his journey." Professor Oak smiled.

"Um, Grandpa, have you seen Eevee and Umbreon?" Gary looked around, noticing that his friends were nowhere in sight.

"I last saw them playing with the new shipment of Bulbasaur's, Charmander's and Squirtle's." Professor Oak answered. "They're safe."

"I hope they are." Gary silently said to himself.

"Come on, let's go and check on them and then you can tell me more about this ship, Zoey. I'm rather fascinated." Professor Oak led the teenagers to where he kept the starter Pokémon to find Gary's Pokémon, but Ash had something (or someone) to talk to.

"Professor Oak, do you mind if I make a phone call?" Ash wondered.

"I don't mind at all Ash. The video phone is in that room over there." Professor Oak pointed to the nearby room. "Although, I don't understand that if you just wanted to talk to your mother, you could just walk home."

"I'm not calling my mom." Ash answered. "There's someone else that I need to speak with." Ash headed into the room, hoping that he could get in touch with someone else. There were some questions that needed to be answered. He dialed a number and then waited for someone to pick up the phone, becoming surprised that a Glameow answered the phone. Ash automatically smiled at the cat Pokémon, looking as if nothing was bothering him. "Hey Glameow, is Johanna home?" With that, Johanna came to the phone, smiling at her daughter's boyfriend.

"_Ash, what a surprise_." Johanna spoke although she was still slightly confused about why Ash was calling her. Was something wrong with Dawn?! _"Is Dawn okay?"_ Johanna automatically asked.

"She's fine." Ash put his hands up to assure Johanna that everything was good for now. He didn't want to worry Johanna about the fact that Team Electric could be on their way here to attack, but there was something he wanted to ask. "Johanna, I was wondering if you knew someone named Lucius."

"_Lucius?"_ Johanna began to look nervous at the question. "_Why would I know someone named Lucius."_

"No offense, but you and Dawn lie pretty much the same way—very badly." Ash sighed. Johanna didn't take offense to Ash's comment. She knew that she was a bad liar; she just didn't want to bring up the past.

"_Ash, I need you to do something for me." _Johanna instructed.

"Sure, what is it?" Ash wondered.

"_I need you to make sure that Dawn never goes out to find Lucius. He's a dangerous man." _Johanna sounded serious.

"Is there a reason why?" Ash asked.

"_There are multiple reasons why, but I'd rather not disclose them." _Johanna sighed.

"Do you happen to know Lucius from somewhere, Johanna?" Ash had to know why she was so into Dawn not finding out about Lucius.

"_I've known him for a long time…and he's not someone that you want to mess around with." _Johanna said. "_Please Ash, just do this favor for me._" Ash had to promise Dawn's mother this, because if he didn't then she could have possibly gotten hurt—and it would have been his fault.

"All right, I'll make sure that she doesn't meet him at all." Ash promised, but then became interested. "But can you tell me why Lucius is so bad and why this will affect Dawn if she ever meets him?"

"_I'm afraid there are some things that shouldn't be explained._" Johanna shook her head. "_Was that all you needed? I'm a little busy today."_

"Yeah, that was all I wanted to know." Ash said after a moment. "Thanks."

"_You're welcome. I'll make sure to call Dawn later and Ash…let's not tell Dawn about this conversation we had._" Johanna gave Ash a serious look.

"Deal." Ash nodded his head. Johanna waved goodbye on the screen and a moment later, she was gone. Ash looked at the phone for a moment, not noticing that Dawn had entered the room.

"Ash? Is everything okay?" Dawn questioned. Ash turned around to find Dawn standing there, wondering if she had heard the conversation he just had with her mother.

"I'm great." Ash said. "Is everything all right with you?"

"Yeah, the others are waiting for you downstairs. They said you were taking a while." Dawn pointed towards the door.

"Great." Ash got up from the chair to walk past her. Dawn noticed that Ash was acting different—a little too different.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" Dawn wondered. "Who were you talking to on the phone just now?"

"It was my mom." Ash lied. "She needs something from the store when were done with Professor Oak's." As Ash walked out the door, Dawn felt her fists clench in anger. Something was going on with Ash, but what could it have been? Was he cheating on her behind her back? She didn't want her mind to go there. What if Ash wasn't cheating on her? Then again, why was he being so secretive? She was going to have to get some information out of him, whether he liked it or not.

* * *

Ash joined the others in the lab where the starter Pokémon were being tended to by Gary. Gary looked to see his friend standing by the door, motioning him to come in. Ash had a sickening feeling in his stomach about Team Electric. How powerful could they have been? Every other team that he had faced were pretty strong. Team Aqua and Magma released a red orb once that completely shadowed Pikachu causing the Pokémon to do some damage. Team Galactic were attempting to control some of the most powerful Pokémon in Sinnoh which caused Ash (along with Dawn, Brock and Gary) some trouble. What if Team Electric were the real deal and actually could harm the world?

"Is something bothering you, Ash?" Gary looked to his friend, concerned.

"No, nothing's bothering me." Ash tried to convince his friends, but he still wasn't able to shake off the chat he had with Dawn's mother. The others decided to let Ash be for the moment while Professor Oak looked into one of the telescopes that could see all of Kanto. "What's Professor Oak doing?" Ash asked, pointing to the Professor.

"He's trying to see if he could find Team Electric through the telescope so he could put a call in to Officer Jenny." Gary explained, tending to a Charmander.

"Did you eventually find Eevee and Umbreon?" Ash crossed his arms, still thinking of all that had occurred in such a short amount of time.

"Yeah, they were playing with the Squirtle's that came in." Gary smiled. "That Eevee sometimes gets herself into scrapes but she sure knows how to have fun." Ash couldn't help but let out a smile towards his friend.

"So did you tell Daisy about Team Electric and how they were coming here?" Ash wondered. Gary looked over to his friend, his eyes widening.

"I was supposed to tell her?" Gary feigned innocence.

"Gary!" Ash scolded, turning frustrated. "What if Daisy gets hurt because you're being childish."

"Who's Daisy?" Zoey joined in the conversation but only stared at Gary. Gary didn't understand why Zoey cared. She was the one that broke up with _him_.

"I don't get why you're getting jealous. Daisy's my sister." Gary cringed as he mentioned that Daisy was his relative. "She's nothing special really. And why do you care so much? You were the one that broke up with me." Zoey had enough of Gary trying to make her look like the bad guy.

"I didn't break up with you, you idiot!" Zoey shrieked. "I was trying to tell you that I missed you but then you hung up on me! And then when I tried to call you back, you didn't pick up the phone!"

"Why are you calling me an idiot?!" Gary stood up from his position, looking Zoey in the eye.

"Because sometimes you act like one, Gary." Zoey sounded exasperated. "You're more clueless than Ash, and that's saying something."

"Hey." Ash tried to defend himself.

"You can't lie Ketchum. You are clueless." Paul spoke from the corner of the room. He was obviously eavesdropping on the conversation.

"As interesting as your relationship drama is, I suggest that we keep quiet." Misty covered her ears, getting tired of all the arguing.

"You know, I can't be in here right now." Gary started to head out the door. "I need some air." Gary slammed the door after him, everyone not even looking at the exit this time.

"You know, the more times he does that, the less effect is has." Paul shrugged his shoulders, before going back to looking out the window.

"How do you even put up with Gary constantly arguing with everyone, Professor Oak?" Misty questioned. Professor Oak continued to look out the window, oblivious that Misty was talking to him.

"Professor Oak?" Ash walked over to the Professor to give him a tap on the shoulder. Professor Oak turned towards Ash only to take out a pair of earplugs from his ear.

"Did you say something Ash?" Professor Oak inquired. Ash's eyes widened at the Professor in shock. That was how he handled Gary arguing with everyone. He didn't even bother listening.

Gary walked along the hallway, still upset about the fact that Zoey was ganging up on him. He was sure that she had broken up with him, so why was she saying that she didn't? _Girls are so confusing, _Gary thought to himself. Speaking of girls, Gary looked up to see Dawn looking at a piece of paper, almost as if she was studying it. Gary had to wonder what had her in thinking mode.

"Dawn, are you all right?" Gary probed. Dawn looked over at the researcher and then back at the picture. Gary walked over to her, looking at the paper that she had in her hand, realizing it was from the book that was in the study. "Hey, that's from the book that was in the study. You ripped a page from it!"

"Do you recognize this man?" Dawn pointed to the picture, hoping that Gary could get a good look from it. Gary's anger diminished as soon as he looked from the picture to Dawn and back.

"Lucius of Team Electric looks just like you…" Gary said in a tone that was slightly above a whisper.

"Exactly." Dawn continued to eye the picture.

"Dawn, you don't think that Lucius can be your father, do you?" Gary asked.

"Well, it's too much to be a coincidence. He looks almost just like me." Dawn looked at her friend with interest.

"Well, I have to agree." Gary couldn't deny it. "Does Ash know about this?"

"He saw the picture, but he thinks that it's just a coincidence." Dawn decided to put the photo away in her pocket. "But Ash and I talked about trying to find my father. My mother won't talk about him."

"Maybe it's for good reason." Gary said. "I don't know my dad and I'm pretty happy."

"Do you think your dad was as cocky as you are?" Dawn half joked.

"Hey, I am not cocky." Gary tried to defend himself, but realizing all the times that he had seen Ash in the beginning of their journey, he had cheerleaders and he had to admit that they would drive him everywhere. "Okay, maybe I kind of am." Gary confessed.

"Walking's not that bad." Dawn let out a grin. Gary and Dawn were knocked out of their conversation when they heard a boom noise nearby. Gary's eyes widened, turning to Dawn with a worried look on his face.

"Go and get Ash and grandpa! I'll go and find Daisy." Gary started to run towards the lab room where Daisy was working.

"Why just Ash and Professor Oak?" Dawn yelled out after Gary.

"Because they're the two most powerful trainers in the room." Gary reasoned.

"What about Misty, Paul and Zoey?"

"I think its best that Zoey stays out of the way." Gary snapped, but then his face turned soft seeing Dawn stunned that Gary had scolded her. "Sorry Dawn. Just bring whomever you think is strong enough. I have a good guess of whose outside." Gary started to run towards the upstairs room in hopes that Daisy was all right. _Why do I care if she's all right, _Gary thought after he caught himself worrying about her. Gary then realized that he had to do the right thing, just to make sure that she was safe. Gary entered the room where Daisy was working in, only to find her still at the computer, working on information. "Daisy! We're under attack! We have to get out of here!"

"What?" Daisy turned her face towards her brother, seeing that he was a bit frightened. Gary wasn't going to admit to Daisy, but he was petrified of Team Electric. "Gary, are you all right?" Daisy stood up, putting her hand on her brother's forehead. Gary shook her off quickly, heading towards the door.

"We're under attack. Someone's out front." Gary instructed. Daisy nodded her head, looking over at the computer.

"I might as well close my research, that way we could come back to it later." Daisy went back to the computer to lock her research.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Team Electric knows about your project." Gary rolled his eyes.

"Why are you so stingy?" Daisy turned to her brother, wanting to know what his problem was.

"Why don't we get out there and help Grandpa. He needs our help right now." Gary headed to the door and bolted towards the front entrance of the Pokémon lab. When he reached outside, he saw Ash, Paul and Professor Oak staring out at the machines. Like Gary figured, Team Electric was there…and they were planning on attacking. Pikachu stood on Ash's shoulder, staring at the ships in anger, hoping that he could get rid of them.

"Well, well, well…look whose here." Paul smirked at the machine. "We can take on these morons."

"Don't underestimate them Paul." Professor Oak looked over to the trainer. "We can't do that this time. You've heard the stories. They're powerful." Paul looked at Professor Oak, thinking about his words before turning back to the ship.

"Look, someone's coming out of the machine." Ash pointed towards one of them. A group of grunts in yellow and black attire exited the ship, staring over at the trainers that were in front of the Pokémon lab. A man stepped out of the ship, looking from Professor Oak to Ash to Paul to Gary. Zoey, Misty and Dawn looked over at the boys, wondering if they were able to take on Team Electric. The man looked over to Dawn, his eyes widening in interest. Ash noticed the man staring at Dawn, and suddenly became defensive. "What are you staring at?!" Ash yelled out. The man turned to Ash, walking over to the trainer.

"So you must be Ash, the winner of the Unova League." Ash looked taken a back at the man's comments.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Ash questioned.

"You moron, it was all on T.V." Paul whispered in Ash's ear. Ash would have yelled at Paul if he wasn't currently in a dangerous predicament.

"I just know these things." The man looked at Pikachu who was still on Ash's shoulder, a devilish grin growing on his face. "Well, well, well…look what we have here." The man continued to stare at Pikachu, which made the mouse Pokémon become uneasy. "A Pikachu. I've seen this Pikachu in the Unova League. I have to say Mr. Ketchum, I was impressed with his power. He looks as if he has some untapped potential." Ash and Pikachu both didn't look impressed with the man who stared at Dawn once more. Dawn continued to stare at the man, wondering why he was taking such interest in her.

"Why does he keep staring at Dawn?" Paul pointed over to Dawn while whispering to Ash.

"I can't explain right now but I have a hunch." Ash quickly whispered back.

"You know, for someone who's not a moron, you seem to be a real moron. I can hear you." The man said to Paul. Paul felt his body tensing up in anger, wanting to attack the man that was in front of him.

"I am not a moron!" Paul yelled. He felt someone's hand on his shoulder, and when he turned around it was Misty's hand.

"Calm down, will you?" Misty's expression was serious, but her voice was soft. Paul slowly relaxed, looking to the head of Team Electric.

"By any chance, is your name Lucius?" Gary wanted to know. The man looked to Gary, becoming interested in the Pokémon researcher.

"In fact, that is my name." Lucius turned to his other two in command who walked forward.

"I read about those guys in the book." Ash looked to Paul who happened to be the closest person to him. "The one on the left is Melanie. She's Lucius's second hand. The other one is Conway. He's after Melanie in ranking."

"So what are they going to do?" Paul wondered.

"They're going to do anything Lucius says, and with all these grunts we're outnumbered." Ash looked around.

"So, you may be wondering why we're here." Lucius walked over to Ash and Paul. "Why do you think that we're here?"

"Because you know something about the Electric Project and you plan on using it to your own benefit." Paul spoke in a know it all tone.

"Well, well, well…looks like Paul here isn't a moron after all." Lucius clapped his hands sarcastically towards the trainer.

"Do that again and my Ursaring will come out and will make you sorry." Paul growled.

"Am I supposed to be afraid of you?" Lucius taunted.

"You should be. I'm pretty powerful. My Pokémon could take on your Pokémon any day." Paul challenged.

"We don't have time for this! Grab the girl and the Pikachu!" A voice that sounded familiar to Ash yelled out from the ship.

"Wait a minute." Ash tried to give it some thought as to where he heard the voice before. "I've heard that voice somewhere before, but I can't remember where."

"Are you really that stupid?" The voice yelled out again. Everyone looked at the ship to see a teenage boy walk down the ramp with a smirk. "Surprised to see me Ash?"

"Trip?!" Ash screamed out in horror. "What…what are you doing here?"

"What I'm doing here? Gee, you really are an idiot." Trip's face was cold. "You defeated me in the Unova League, and I'm not going to let you embarrass me ever again. The only way to get rid of your power is to take away everything that means something to you!" Ash turned to Lucius who let out a slight grin.

"I'm glad that we all know each other." Lucius turned his attention to Dawn. He walked over to the blue haired coordinator, a sneer forming on his face. "Well, well, well…it's so nice to see you Dawn."

"How do you know my name?" Dawn was becoming a bit frightened.

"I know everyone's name." Lucius shrugged his shoulder. "It's a head of Team Electric thing."

"Leave her alone!" Ash stepped out of line to look at Lucius. Everyone wasn't surprised that Ash had decided to challenge Lucius authority. He felt that the girl he loved was in danger. "If you're going to bother anyone then you better bug me, but leave her alone."

"I'm tired of playing with my prey. It's time to attack." An evil glare appeared in Lucius's eye, as he pulled out a Pokéball. "Raichu! Let's go!" Lucius threw the Pokéball in the air, a Raichu popping out of it.

"A Raichu?" Dawn looked interested, going into her bag to pull out her Pokédex.

"**Raichu, a Mouse Pokémon of the electric element. Raichu is the evolved form of Pikachu. It can shock with more than 100,000 volts, enough to render a Dragonite unconscious.**" The Pokédex scanned the Raichu, releasing a small amount of information on it.

"I don't think this is a good time for a lesson on Pokémon." Paul sounded agitated.

"Raichu, go after the Pikachu…I'll take care of the young girl." Ash realized that Lucius was talking about none other than Dawn. He looked over to Dawn who was beginning to feel trapped. He had to protect Dawn, no matter what.

"Pikachu! Use Electro Ball!" Ash yelled. In one swift motion, Pikachu unleashed an electric ball towards Lucius. Lucius landed on the ground, shocked that he had been attacked by a child. Lucius growled, taking a Pokéball out of his pocket.

"So you think you're smart child?!" Lucius yelled. "Let's see how smart you are when I do this! Jigglypuff, come out!" In one instant, a Jigglypuff came out, puffing itself towards Pikachu. Paul, Misty, Zoey, Daisy and Gary went into a fit of laughter in seeing the young Pokémon stand before them.

"This is rich!" Gary wiped an imaginary tear. "You expect us to be afraid of a Jigglypuff?! Oh, you are so bad!"

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you." Lucius grinned. "Jigglypuff, why don't you sing our sweet friends a tune, shall we?"

"Pikachu, do something!" Ash looked at his Pokémon in fear. Pikachu wasn't sure what he was going to do. He backed up, turning to the Lucius with his cheeks sparking with electricity. Everyone turned to Jigglypuff who started singing its song. One by one, the heroes began to get sleepy, all falling into their own slumber. Ash looked over at Lucius, seeing him giving him an evil smirk.

"Night, night _hero_." Were the last things that Ash had heard along with an evil chuckle. The next thing Ash knew, he was sound asleep.

* * *

"Ash, Ash wake up." A faint voice called Ash from far away. As Ash's eyes began to open, he saw his mother standing over him with Mr. Mime in their living room. Ash quickly bolted into an upright position, looking around for Pikachu. He saw Gary, Paul, Misty, Daisy, Zoey and Professor Oak holding their heads after waking up from their unwanted slumber.

"Wha…what happened?" Ash looked around, not sure what went wrong. "I had some dream about Team Electric with a Raichu and a Jigglypuff."

"Yeah, about that…" Paul looked over to Ash, looking sincere. "What you had wasn't a dream."

"What?" Ash looked at Paul.

"What you had wasn't a dream." Paul repeated, sounding stern. "Unless we all dreamt the same thing."

"Wait a minute, where's Pikachu?" Ash looked around the room interested in where his best friend went.

"So, who wants to tell Ash the bad news?" Gary spoke up before raising his hand. "Not it." Zoey walked over to Ash, looking into his eyes.

"Um, Ash. Pikachu was taken by Team Electric." Zoey said as softly as she could, hoping that Ash would automatically understand.

"WHAT?!" Ash got up from his seated position, running to the window. "Pikachu can't be missing."

"That wasn't the worst part." Gary answered. "There's more bad news. And once again, I'm not telling you the bad news." Ash looked hoping that someone else would tell him what was going on.

"Dawn was taken by Team Electric too." Paul blurted out. Everyone turned to Paul, wondering why he was willing to tell Ash the worse news possible. Ash turned to everyone, hoping that someone was playing a prank on him. He was hoping that Dawn and Pikachu would come out from their hiding spot, telling Ash that all was fine and that they were still safe. When their face expressions didn't change, Ash felt his legs weaken, landing on his knees looking down at the ground.

"Ash?" Gary softly said, walking over to Ash to get to his eye level. "Are you okay?" Ash stared at Gary, his face not moving. He then twisted his face into fury. He then screamed as loud as his vocal cords would let him, expressing the pain and heartache that his girlfriend and his best friend were taken from him in a blink of an eye by a man that was deemed dangerous and deadly.

"DAWN!"


	5. A Champion Arrives To Help

**A/N: Yay! A brand new chapter of the story! Hope you guys enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. Eh...this is tedious. :)**

* * *

Ash sat down on the couch, dumbfounded by the fact that Lucius was able to kidnap Pikachu and Dawn, the two most important things in his life. The others stared at him from the kitchen and they couldn't help but feel bad for him—well, most of them couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"So how long is he going to be like this?" Paul pointed towards his rival. "I haven't seen him this quiet in a long time." Misty shoved Paul, giving him a glare. "Ouch, what is this? 'Let's abuse Paul day?'"

"Maybe if you were more considerate, no one would have to nudge you or shove you." Misty retorted.

"Our arguing isn't going to help bring Pikachu and Dawn back, so we have to work together, and I mean all of us." Gary focused mostly on Misty and Paul who were still going at it. Paul scoffed, turning his head away from Gary.

"You should be the last one talking about all of us working together." Paul muttered.

"What was that?" Gary became frustrated towards the Pokémon trainer.

"All you've been doing since Daisy got here was arguing with her, and you don't seem too happy that Zoey is back in the picture, now are you?" Paul explained, still looking away from Gary. Gary looked to Zoey and Daisy before looking back at Paul. Maybe Paul was right, maybe Gary was acting like a jerk—but he wasn't going to give his sister the satisfaction of saying sorry and admitting that _he_ was possibly wrong. That wasn't happening. Now, Zoey on the other hand—

"We need to find out where Team Electric is heading." Misty pounded her fist on the table, looking over at the teenagers that were in the kitchen. "Which reminds me, someone might want to call Brock and let him know what's going on?"

"All right then, I'll do it." Gary volunteered, but Paul had another idea.

"How about I do it? It could give Gary some _bonding _time with his ex-girlfriend and his sister." Paul let out a smirk while grabbing the telephone to go into the next room to make a phone call to Pewter City. Gary's face was beginning to turn red with anger, until Misty stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Gary asked, his voice sounding strict.

"I get that your mad at the world right now, I really do. But right now, Ash is upset because he lost the two most important things in the world to him and all you can think about is your sibling rivalry." Misty stared at her friend. "If there's anyone who should be angry right now, it's Ash. So you need to cool it." Daisy and Zoey looked at Gary in awe. They had never heard anyone reprimand Gary the way that Misty just did—full of fire and determination. Gary quickly turned to his sister but huffed—and walked out the kitchen.

"He really needs to stop doing that." Zoey crossed her arms, looking over at Gary.

"Well, someone needs to talk to him." Daisy shrugged her shoulders.

"Right now I don't think we're the best choices to talk to Gary." Zoey admitted. "Maybe we just let him cool off a bit." The door knocked, which got the attention to everyone in the room. Professor Oak looked at Ash who slowly went to get the door, wondering who it could have been. Ash opened the door to find none other than Cynthia, the Champion from the Sinnoh region standing on Ash's doorstep. Everyone's eyes widened at the sight of being in the presence of such a graceful elite Champion. Even Paul was impressed as he dropped the phone while trying to put it back on its holster in the kitchen.

"I don't believe this." Misty turned to Zoey and Daisy. "Is that…"

"Cynthia?" Ash was the only one that seemed unfazed by the fact that the Champion was standing in his doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that Team Electric came along and stole a Pikachu." Cynthia wished that she was there on better terms, and by judging by Ash's face, she knew that the Pikachu that was stolen was his. "We all thought that Team Electric was a myth."

"Everyone thought they were, except for that Trip jerk." Paul spoke up. "Apparently he kept holding a grudge and he didn't want to accept the fact he lost."

"Trip from the Unova League?" Cynthia looked to Paul.

"Yes Ma'am." Paul nodded his head in response.

"I don't think I've ever heard the words 'ma'am' come out of Paul's mouth." Zoey whispered to Daisy and Misty.

"He doesn't know the danger that he's up against. He never should have gone over to Team Electric and informed them on how to extract revenge." Cynthia pursed her lips.

"Why? Do you think that they'll backstab Trip?" Ash wondered.

"It's possible that they do. I actually have some information on Team Electric. Ash, may I come inside?" Cynthia tried to give Ash a warm smile to cheer him up. Ash quickly moved to the side to allow the champion to enter the room. Cynthia pulled out her small computer, which unveiled information on the dangerous group. "They have been using some information on how to find the most powerful Zapdos and Pikachu that the Pokémon world has ever seen, and they plan on using Ash's Pikachu to find the island."

"Wait a minute, does the Zapdos that they're looking for have a heart shaped marking on its wing?" Daisy asked the Champion.

"As a matter of fact, yes it does." Cynthia looked shocked towards Daisy. "How did you know that?"

"Because, I've been doing information on the island." Daisy answered. "It's a part of my research called 'The Electric Project'. I've been interested in trying to find about the inhabitants of the island."

"This is not good. Not good at all." Cynthia closed her computer, not looking at the rookie researcher.

"Do you see what you've done?" Gary looked to his sister. "Your information is going to put Pikachu and all the other electric Pokémon in this world in danger."

"Why are you scolding me for?!" Daisy looked to her brother, anger forming on her face. "I'm getting tired of you making it look like I'm the bad guy."

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Gary and Daisy turned their heads to Ash who took a deep breath after yelling at them. "I've lost everything I've ever cared about, and all you two can do is argue. You're not little kids anymore, so it's time you start acting like grownups and put this stupid rivalry behind you!"

"Dang, Ketchum has guts." Paul looked to Misty, beholding astonishment.

"Ash, what did you mean when you said that you lost everything that you've ever cared about?" Cynthia questioned.

"Team Electric has Dawn." Ash looked down to the ground, looking flustered and distressed.

"They have Dawn?! Are you sure?" Cynthia asked.

"I'm sure." Ash turned around. "At least that's what Paul told me."

"I was able to stay awake long enough to see Lucius take Dawn after she had fallen asleep. That darn Jigglypuff was stronger than what we anticipated." Paul said, looking over to Cynthia. "Why does its voice have to put people to sleep."

"You underestimated a Jigglypuff, I'm guessing?" Cynthia asked, looking slightly amused.

"Lesson number one in becoming a Pokémon master, you can't underestimate any Pokémon." Ash looked to his rival, informing him. Paul remembered that while everyone else was laughing at Jigglypuff, Ash hadn't. Maybe Paul could learn something from Ash after all.

"That's correct Ash." Cynthia said. "We must get this news to Alder, right away."

"Why Alder?" Daisy questioned.

"Because he's one of the few trainers that happens to be stronger than Lucius of Team Electric." Cynthia answered.

"All right, so we're heading back to Unova?" Ash asked.

"That's right, that is if you're up for it Ash?" Cynthia looked to Ash, wanting to make sure that he wanted to go after a dangerous organization.

"Are you kidding me? They kidnapped Pikachu and Dawn. There's no way that I am going to let them get away with what they had done." Ash's looked away from Cynthia looking at one of the pictures on the walls that had Pikachu in it. Ash was going to get back everything he cared about, no matter how long it took.

"We're going with you." Misty stepped up, looking at her longtime friend. "We're not letting you get into trouble all by yourself."

"Thanks Misty." Ash smiled at his friend, then staring at the others. "Who else is with me?"

"I'm with you." Gary upraised his hand.

"Me too." Daisy and Zoey said in unanimity. Everyone turned to Paul, wanting to know his answer.

"I'm in. He called me weak, which I'm not so I'd like to show him a thing or two." Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"All right then." Ash looked over to Professor Oak and Delia, hoping that it was all right with them.

"You do whatever you have to do to bring Pikachu and Dawn home Ash." Professor Oak assured him.

"Just make sure that you don't get into too much trouble." Delia said. Ash nodded his head, looking to his friends.

"There's just a couple of things that I need to do before we go."

"What's that?" Gary asked.

"I have to form my Pokémon team. Without Pikachu, it's going to be tough, but I'm going to need a team that's just a strong." Ash turned to the researcher.

"Don't tell me that we're going out to catch Pokémon now." Paul sounded agitated.

"Who said that we were catching Pokémon Paul?" Ash cunningly said to his rival. Paul looked muddled towards Ash, unsure of what Ash had meant by his sentence. Ash walked out of his house, running to the Pokémon lab with Paul following in tow. Once they reached the Pokémon lab, Ash stared out as his Pokémon, all of them turning back towards him with interest. They knew that Ash was in trouble by the way that he looked at them, prompting them to walk up to him. Paul's eyes widened at the Pokémon in front of him, turning to Ash.

"These are all your Pokémon?!" Paul exclaimed.

"Yep, and they're all one of a kind." Ash proudly looked to his friends before his face turned serious. "I'm going to need your help. Team Electric has kidnapped Pikachu and Dawn and I need some of you to come with me to help fight them and bring Pikachu home. This is going to be a long and dangerous journey, so I need you guys that are going to come with me to make sure that you are willing to fight until you can't fight anymore. So, whose with me?" Without hesitation, all of Ash's Pokémon yelled out that they were with their trainer. Whatever Ash wanted them to do; they were going to be there for him one hundred percent. "Now, if I don't choose you it doesn't mean that I don't love you any less. It's just for this specific job, I'll need certain Pokémon."

"So which ones do you plan on taking with you?" Paul wondered.

"Sceptile, Quilava, Swellow, Donphan, Torterra. Are you guys willing to help me?" Ash looked to his Pokémon. They all nodded their heads; Ash taking out five Pokéball's to put them in for easy traveling. Ash didn't notice but Buizel walked over to him looking upset that Ash didn't choose him.

"Bui, Bui!" Buizel looked at his trainer, feeling neglected.

"Buizel, it's not that I don't want to bring you, it's just that we're dealing with electric Pokémon, and water types can easily get hurt against electric Pokémon." Ash explained soothingly to his Buizel. Buizel didn't like the response, but he respected Ash's wishes. "I promise that if I need another Pokémon, you'll be the first Pokémon I call. Okay buddy?" Buizel looked at Ash, a smile forming on his face.

"Bui!" Buizel agreed. Ash patted Buizel on the head looking over to Paul.

"Wait a minute, you have five Pokémon. A trainer can bring six. Why do you have one spot empty?" Paul seemed curious.

"Because I'm not done yet. There's one more Pokémon that I have to get." Ash walked over to the lab to head to one of the video phones, with Paul following behind him. Ash dialed a number, suddenly bringing a girl on the other line. "Liza, hey there!"

"_Ash, is that you? It's great to hear from you again._" Liza smiled. Ash wished that the call wasn't strictly business, but there was something that he needed.

"Hey, Liza. Is Charzard there?" Ash questioned.

"_Yep. He's training at the moment. Is something the matter?_" Liza became concerned.

"I was wondering if you could send Charzard over to Professor Oak's Pokémon lab. I need him for a mission." Ash's voice sounded a bit urgent.

"_Of course I can, there's no problem with that at all." _Liza smiled. She looked over to the battlefield motioning for Charzard to come over. In one fell swoop, Charzard landed next to Liza took at the phone, while Paul felt like he was going to faint any moment. "_Apparently, Ash needs you for a mission. Do you think that you'd be up for it?_" Liza questioned. Charzard looked into the video screen seeing his longtime friend on the other line.

"Charzard, I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't important. Do you think that you would be willing to help me? I'll explain everything to you when you get here, just trust me." Ash asked his friend. Charzard didn't hesitate for a moment, nodding his head with a smile.

"_Looks like Charzard is heading to Kanto_." Liza grinned.

"Thanks so much Liza, I appreciate it." Ash exclaimed. Liza nodded her head before hanging up the phone call. A moment later, one of the machines started whirring, a Pokéball coming out from it. Ash ran over to the machine to grab the Pokéball with a smile, Paul still looking pale.

"I don't believe it. You own a Charzard?" Paul spat out.

"You want to see him?" Ash led Paul outside the Pokémon lab, throwing the Pokéball. Charzard popped out, and after realizing that Ash was the one that released him, he ran over to say hello to his trainer. "Hey buddy, nice to see you again." Ash patted Charzard on his head, Charzard sounding content. Charzard looked to Paul, becoming protective of Ash automatically. Ash wondered what the matter was when Charzard flung Ash behind him to stare at Paul. "Charzard, it's okay. Paul's a friend. We need your help. Pikachu was taken and we need you to help bring him back." Charzard quickly turned back to Ash, looking worried. Apparently, all of Ash's Pokémon really cared about Pikachu's well-being. Charzard quickly forgot about Paul for the moment, thinking only about his trainers' best friend. "Do you think that you can help?"

"ROAR!" Charzard roared, letting out a flamethrower to the sky. Paul's eyes opened wide while Ash chuckled.

"That was what I was hoping for." Ash patted Charzard, grabbing the Pokéball to put him back in. "Let's head back to the hou…Paul?" Ash stopped in midsentence when he noticed Paul stammering and looking frightened. "Charzard's not going to hurt you."

"He better not." Paul quickly snapped out of his fear, walking past Ash. "And if Misty finds out about this, then you're a dead man." Ash smiled at his rival, before following him down the road back to Ash's house.

* * *

Once Ash and Paul returned to the house, Ash nodded his head to his friends letting them know that his team of Pokémon had been collected. There was just one more thing that he had to do.

"Mom, where's my clothes from Sinnoh?" Ash turned to his mother.

"I put them in your room in your drawer. Did you want the hat too?" Delia wondered why Ash wanted his old Sinnoh clothes.

"Thanks, I'll be right back." Ash ran up the stairs to close the door, emitting a smile from his mother.

"If I know any better, if he's going to save Dawn then he's going to save her in the clothes that she saw him when they first met." Gary chuckled.

"Did you ask where Brock was?" Misty turned her attention to Paul.

"Yep, he's in Cerulean City. We'll have to meet him there." Paul looked down at the message he received in his Pokégear.

"That sounds like a plan." Cynthia nodded her head. "The nearest ferry to Unova is in Cerulean City." The gang looked to find Ash standing on the top staircase in the same clothing that he had worn during his adventures in the Sinnoh Region. Ash pulled up one of his gloves, strapping them giving his friend a determined face.

"Let's go and find Team Electric. They have something that belongs to me."

* * *

When Dawn awoke from her slumber, she noticed that she wasn't anywhere near home. As she came to, she looked around to see that she was in a dark room that was painted in dark brown. She turned her head to see Pikachu lying on the floor, still asleep from Jigglypuff's song. Dawn rushed over to Pikachu in hopes that she could knock Pikachu out of his sleep.

"Pikachu?" Dawn whispered, continuing to shake Pikachu. Pikachu slowly woke up but when he looked around at his surroundings, he began to worry.

"Pika, Pi?" Pikachu looked over to Dawn.

"I don't know where we are Pikachu. I think were in some ship." Dawn turned to the door, hoping that she could open it so they could find a way out of there. "I don't think were in Pallet Town anymore." Dawn tried to push the door open but with no luck.

"Pikachu?" Pikachu began to feel nervous as he looked around the room.

"Don't worry Pikachu. I'm sure that we can find our way out of here." Dawn assured the Pokémon. Dawn scratched Pikachu's ears, wondering that if she had asked Pikachu to open the door then they could have been on their way. "Pikachu, do you think that you can try to open the door?"

"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu nodded his head, attempting to let out a thunderbolt. But Pikachu's thunderbolt didn't hit the door—it didn't even come out of Pikachu! Pikachu looked shocked that his thunderbolt wasn't working, so he decided to try to use a Volt Tackle next. Pikachu ran towards the door, hoping that he would engulf in electricity to break the door open.

_WHAM!_

Pikachu landed smack dab into the door, falling on his back unsure why his Volt Tackle didn't work either. Pikachu stood up once more, deciding to try Electro Ball. Pikachu attempted to bring all of his electricity to his tail and release a gigantic ball, but he couldn't conjure any electricity to hit the door.

"None of your electric attacks are working." Dawn worried.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu held up his paw, hoping to try Iron Tail on the door. If the electric attacks weren't working then maybe his steel attack would work Pikachu ran towards the door, focusing all of his energy on his tail. Pikachu jumped in the air, swung his tail around and—

_BAM!_

Pikachu's tail scrunched up in pain, with Pikachu falling down on the floor. Pikachu grabbed his tail, clutching it tightly, wondering what was wrong with him. He couldn't attack or do anything. Without his powers, he was simply just a furry creature. Dawn took out a Pokéball, hoping that maybe if Pikachu couldn't break the door, one of her Pokémon could.

"Quilava! Use Flamewheel!" Dawn threw the Pokéball with Quilava popping out. Quilava curled itself into a ball rolling towards the door but Dawn noticed that fire wasn't engulfing her Pokémon. Instead, it hit the wall, flying backwards into the ground. "Quilava!"

"Qu…" Quilava struggled to get up from the ground. Dawn picked up Quilava becoming confused with all around her. Why couldn't the Pokémon attack the door? The door flung open which surprised Dawn, Quilava and Pikachu. Who was coming in the room?

"Well, well, well…what a surprise." The voice said, entering the room. It turned out to be Trip and Serperior.

"Tr…Trip?" Dawn sounded almost frightened.

"So you must be the infamous Dawn that _Ash_ had spoken so fondly about." Trip sneered. Dawn stood in place, Quilava growling at Trip.

"He spoke about me?" Dawn answered, trying to hide her fear.

"He did, and then some." Trip chuckled. "I don't see how an incompetent fool like Ash can actually juggle training his Pokémon and keeping a long distance relationship with you."

"What is it that you want from me?" Dawn wanted to get the question out of the way.

"Why do you think that there is something that _I _want from you?" Trip chortled. "It was Lucius that wanted you. He was interested in you, and he figured that if he had you then Ash would come rushing to your side to save you. There's just one problem…Ash doesn't know where Team Electric is hiding and there's no way that you can communicate with him while you're in this room."

"Is there a reason why my Pokémon can't attack in this room?" Dawn asked.

"As a matter of fact there is. There's a special force field in this room, which paralyzes all of the Pokémon's abilities. It works on all types of Pokémon and on all types of attacks." Trip explained. "So if you're trying to break out then it's no use."

"You aren't going to get away with this." Dawn sounded braver than she felt.

"Oh, you think that we're not going to get away with it young child?" Trip didn't look at the teenage girl.

"Young child?!" Dawn scoffed at the young trainer. "You're younger than _me_!" Dawn pointed to him.

"It's nice to know that you have some spunk. Too bad your Pokémon can't help you get out." Trip started to walk out the door with Serperior following alongside him. "Let's go Serperior."

"Wait, what did you want with Pikachu?" Dawn asked.

"That's for us to know and for you to never find out." Trip closed the door to the room that Dawn was trapped in, leaving her feeling helpless for the first time in a long time. Dawn sat down on the ground with Quilava and Pikachu looking at her. If there was ever a time that she needed Ash, now would be it.

* * *

"We should be almost to Cerulean City." Cynthia instructed the teenagers on the walk through the Kanto forest.

"I don't get why we didn't just ride Charzard." Paul looked to Ash, unsure why they were walking in the first place.

"Charzard isn't wasting his energy on flying us everywhere." Ash defended his Pokémon. "He's going to need his energy for when we fight."

"I'm just curious how is Misty going to help? Misty has only Water Pokémon that are extremely effected against electric types." Gary looked to Cynthia.

"Although Misty's Pokémon may have a type disadvantage, she could have a power advantage." Cynthia answered Gary.

"That makes a lot of sense." Ash piped up. "Pokémon can have a disadvantage but can win battles if they have tactics or if they're stronger."

"That's right Ash." Cynthia smiled.

"How did you know that Team Electric was in Kanto?" Zoey questioned.

"I heard about some strange sightings. The Elite Four figured it would be best for us if I had gone to check things out." Cynthia said. "Pokémon and the world could be in danger."

"So if Team Electric are able to find the old Pikachu with the Zapdos, does that mean that's it?" Paul asked with nervousness in his voice.

"Not quite but we would be at a terrible disadvantage." Cynthia explained. "There would be a slim chance that we could stop Team Electric at that point, so we would have to try to stop them before it gets that far."

"I'm just hoping that we can find Dawn and Pikachu in time." Ash answered, noticing a figure in the distance. "It looks like Brock is here."

"Great, I'll fill him in." Gary walked ahead to try to catch up with Brock. Ash figured that now would be a good time to ask Daisy about information about where the island with the Zapdos and Pikachu were.

"Daisy, is there something that you could tell us about the Electric Project at least about where the island is located?" Daisy looked around to see the others walking ahead of them before leaning close to talk to him.

"The island is located around the Unova region." Daisy said. "The coordinates leave it just past the outskirts of Castelia City. It's small but with the electric fence surrounding it, the only way that you can get into the island is underwater. It leads to a cave where if you enter it, it's guarded by powerful electric types."

"Do you think that we could find Team Electric though? If they know about the Electric Project where do you think they'd be?" Ash asked.

"If they were looking for the island, then they would have to trek all through Unova to find it." Daisy answered.

"Which means they'd be looking forever." Ash finished the thought.

"Not quite, I wrote in the project about the quickest way to get to the island so they might already start heading there. The ship that they were traveling in was pretty slow so we might be able to catch up to them if we can hurry." Daisy looked at Ash with guilt on her face. "It's all my fault. I never should have dug into the project."

"It's not your fault. You just were interested in what was an awesome project." Ash patted Daisy's shoulder. Brock walked up to Ash, hoping that what Gary had told him wasn't true.

"Ash, what happened to Dawn and Pikachu?"

"They were taken by Team Electric." Ash answered, his voice quivering after thinking of how Lucius and Trip would hurt his girlfriend and his best friend.

"We're going to find them Ash. I promise." Brock placed a hand on Ash's shoulder, assuring him that all was going to be well.

"There has to be a way that we can find Team Electric before they head to the island." Ash spoke his thought aloud. Gary took out a Pokéball with a smile before throwing it, out popping Eevee. Eevee smelled the ground, looking at Gary with interest.

"We can use Eevee to see if she can smell Team Electric." Gary smiled towards his Pokémon.

"That would be a great idea, but we have nothing that _smells _like Team Electric for Eevee to track their scent." Ash hated to put the downside to his friend's plan.

"You're right." Gary sighed, his tone turning gloomy. Eevee jumped on Gary's shoulder, looking at Ash.

"It was a good plan though Gary." Cynthia assured the researcher. Cynthia noticed the town in front her, letting out a smile. "And we are here!"

"We're here?" Ash asked.

"Here's Cerulean City." Misty exclaimed, pushing Brock, Ash and Gary out of the way to go in front.

"Now we just have to find the ferry." Zoey said.

"This way." Cynthia instructed the teenagers.

"So where are we going in Unova?" Ash asked, suddenly interested.

"Where the Unova League took place. Alder has a little cottage just past the stadium. He's asked if we could meet him there." Cynthia informed the Unova League champion.

"That sounds easy enough." Ash said.

"Nothing is ever easy, Ash. A Pokémon Champions job is never easy; we usually have to work on making sure that there is peace which is hard with all the evil in the world." Cynthia patted Ash on the back heading to the ferry.

"I just have to run and get a few Pokémon from the gym. I'll be right back!" Misty yelled to Ash and Cynthia, heading to the Cerulean City Gym.

"Being a gym leader must be a lot of fun." Ash looked in awe.

"It really is a sight to behold. I wouldn't be surprised if you were a gym leader one day Ash. You have the confidence, skills, and you're very strategic." Cynthia said to the trainer.

"Really. I wouldn't think of myself as a gym leader…" Ash found his cheeks turning red.

"Oh, but I think you're talented." Cynthia noticed Misty heading back with her Pokéballs attached to her belt.

"Let's do this!" Misty yelled, the others staring at her with confusion. "Did I speak too loud?"

"You think?" Paul covered his ears, looking annoyed.

"We have to head to Unova." Cynthia stopped the arguing between Paul and Misty, hoping that they could find Team Electric soon. "There's the ferry." Ash looked out at the ferry, walking over to it with a feeling of emptiness. If it weren't for Team Electric, he would be home with Pikachu and Dawn relaxing, thinking of what they would want to do next with their Pokémon journey's. Now he had been forced to go to Unova and find his friends. He had hoped that Dawn was all right and that no one was hurting her.

_When I find Lucius and Trip, they are going to be sorry for ever crossing my path, _Ash thought to himself. His heart usually had no place for revenge, but this wasn't any ordinary case. Ash would find Dawn and Pikachu, and he would make sure to get his retribution against Team Electric once and for all.

* * *

**A/N: I know, another Authors Note for this chapter. We all know Dawn is suspicious of Lucius because she found a picture of him that eerily looks like her (in the last chapter), but why do you think Lucius kidnapped Dawn? Is it to get to know her better-or something more evil? _  
_**


	6. Visiting Alder

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back again with a new chapter! First off before we start with the story I'd like to thank Madame Rodoshe for helping me come up with a new arc in my story. New characters will be revealed this chapter and-Team Electric isn't the only one that has tabs on the Electric Project. So once again thanks to Madame Rodoshe and to all that reviewed the last chapter. You guys rock. Now, on with Chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I wish I did. :)**

* * *

The ferry ride to Unova made Ash thinking over everything that he had lost in such a short amount of time. He thought over why Lucius had taken his girlfriend, his best friend, everything that he had that was good in his life. Looking down at the crystal blue waters, he could see his reflection, just wishing that Dawn and Pikachu were there with him. He was knocked out of his thoughts when someone tapped him on his shoulder. Ash wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment, but when he turned around he saw none other than Paul standing behind him, actually showing concern.

"You've been quiet. Spill what's on your mind." Paul's voice was brusque, but Ash knew that Paul really meant 'hey, are you okay?'

"I'm just thinking on why Team Electric wanted Dawn and Pikachu so badly." Ash looked down at the water, not wanting to say anything else. Paul secretly felt bad that Ash was down in the dumps, but if he had turned soft then Ash would never let him live it down. Paul shoved Ash, startling the hurting trainer. "Hey! What was that for?!"

"That's to knock you out of your funk." Paul furrowed his eyebrow to the trainer. "I'm not going to let you sulk in your misery while your girlfriend is probably getting harassed by Trip."

"He's doing what now?!" Ash turned angry, rage filling every bone in his body.

"Oh please, what did you think that they were doing over there? Having tea with the Queen?" Paul questioned sardonically. "Trip is probably trying to absorb everything out of Pikachu and they probably want Dawn because they know you'll show up."

"So you think it's me that they want?" Ash's anger disappeared suddenly, now interested in what Paul meant.

"I don't think they want you, but they do want to get rid of you." Paul answered. "You're a gigantic threat to their organization and to every evil doer in the Pokémon world."

"What makes you think that?" Ash looked out at the water.

"You took down the head of Team Rocket just so you could save your friend's Eevee." Paul recalled the events from the year prior.

"How did you know that, you weren't there?" Ash raised an eyebrow to Paul.

"You think it wasn't in the paper or all over every town possible?" Paul smirked. "What you do is a pretty big deal in the Pokémon world."

"Is there something that you're trying to say Paul?" Ash let out a sly grin towards his rival.

"All I'm saying is that sulking around on this boat isn't going to save Dawn and Pikachu's life, so you need to get out of depression and think of a way to save them." Paul tersely said, before turning back to the other side of the boat to talk to the others about where to find Alder. Ash looked over to his rival for a moment, a smile forming on his face. _So Paul does care, _Ash chuckled. The boat was still a long way to Unova, so he figured it would be a good idea to head towards Cynthia to see if she could shed some light on how Alder could help them.

* * *

"So are you sure that Alder would be able to help us?" Zoey asked the Sinnoh Champion.

"Alder? Of course he can." Cynthia nodded her head. "He's very knowledgeable about the topic of Team Electric, even though Mr. Oak over there was able to get most of his information from a book." Gary turned to Zoey and Cynthia, blushing. He had never been called Mr. Oak in his seventeen years of existence, and he had to admit that it felt good.

"Yes, Mr. Oak is very knowledgeable." Zoey chuckled, thinking that saying Gary's name that way made him sound like a grownup. Gary looked to Zoey, a small smile forming on his face while she wasn't looking. Zoey turned to Gary, noticing his smile, smiling back in the process.

"All right Gary and Zoey, enough with the silent flirting." Misty teased. Gary turned around towards Misty, his face reddening.

"What are you talking about?" Gary put up his hands, waving as if nothing was the matter. "We are not flirting."

"Of course you're not." Misty pretended to believe Gary's lie. Paul turned his head to Misty, suddenly becoming interested. He didn't notice that Misty's hair was actually shiny and pretty in this sunlight. Paul snapped himself out of his thoughts, remembering that he didn't like Misty. He didn't like her _that_ way. Besides, it was so much more fun to make fun of her. Gary saw Ash talking with Cynthia, turning his attention back to Zoey. He didn't hear his sister come up behind him, watching her little brother's interaction with what he thought was his ex-girlfriend.

"Why don't you go up there and patch things up with Zoey?" Daisy asked. Gary turned around, surprised that his sister was there. Gary crossed his arms, looking away from her.

"Why don't you mind your business?" Gary snapped. Daisy was beginning to get tired of her brother's attitude, so she demanded to know what his problem was.

"Why are you acting like that?!" Daisy exclaimed angrily. Gary turned his head towards his sister, pretending to think as to why he was so frustrated with her.

"Gee Daisy, I don't know." Gary replied mordantly before turning serious. "Maybe because you're little miss perfect and I'm just always going to be in your stupid shadow."

"What are you talking about Gary?" Daisy looked at her brother incredulously, not sure where he got an idea like that.

"You know that it's true Daisy." Gary saw Daisy's face still wrapped in confusion, so he let out a sigh, knowing that he wasn't getting to her. "You know what, never mind." Gary walked past her, not wanting to say another word to her. Daisy had to figure out what Gary had meant when he said that he was in her shadow. Did their sibling rivalry go on longer than she thought?

"We're here." Cynthia exclaimed, everyone looking out at the island of Unova.

"It took a while to get here." Brock said, still in awe by the city that was before him.

"I wish that we had known about Unova before." Misty turned to Ash. "We would have come with you if you had told us."

"It is a great city." Ash nodded his head, turning to his shoulder. Ash's first instinct was to have Pikachu agree with him—but there was no Pikachu. He remembered that Pikachu had been captured by Team Electric. Ash felt the anger returning to his body, thinking about what he was going to do when he found them, along with Trip. They first had to talk to Alder to find out anything else that they needed to know about Team Electric. Ash had to be prepared if he was going to take on Lucius. He wasn't going to let anything get in his way of finding Dawn.

* * *

Dawn tried multiple ways to get out of the room that she was in; hoping that someone or somebody could help her. She was more nervous to find out what Lucius wanted with her. She couldn't bring herself to believe that the man that had captured her could have been her father. If he was, then her mother had every right to not tell her who this vile man was. He was bent on greed and power, something that Dawn didn't want to be a part of. As soon as Dawn had given up on trying to escape, the door flew open with two Team Electric grunts standing before her. Pikachu and Quilava stood in front of Dawn, trying to guard her even though their attacks didn't work in this particular room.

"Hello, Dawn." The woman with the thick Russian accent stepped forward to look at the teenager. "You may not know us, but we know about you very well. Why don't you come along and we can talk with Lucius." Dawn noticed the woman's hand reaching out towards her, unsure if she should take it. Dawn looked up to the woman shaking her head.

"I wouldn't want to go anywhere with you." Dawn spat. Quilava and Pikachu hissed at the woman, but the woman merely turned around, a smirk forming on her face.

"But you don't know what we are all about Dawn. Please, why don't you follow us and see for yourself what Team Electric is all about?" The woman walked towards the door, now the man holding his hand out for Dawn to take.

"I don't want to go." Dawn crossed her arms.

"What we're asking isn't a request." The woman sounded harsher. Dawn realized that the more that she tried to resist them, the more likely Pikachu or Quilava would get hurt. Dawn relented, walking forward with the woman, Pikachu and Quilava following. "I'm glad that you made the right decision Dawn."

"Can I just ask how you know my name?" Dawn became interested. She didn't remember telling them her name, so how did they figure it out?

"Lucius was very specific about you. He wanted to speak with you in the other room." The woman walked forward, the man following behind her.

"Well, since you know my name, can I know your name?" Dawn questioned.

"No." The woman simply said.

"If you know our name and you happen to get free, you'll go straight to Officer Jenny or to your boyfriend—and we can't have that." The man added further explanation.

"Wait a minute, how did you know I had a boyfriend?" Dawn looked to the man, becoming scared that they were somehow stalking her.

"Lucius did his research on you." The woman answered. She led Dawn to a room that had multiple chairs, like a conference room, instructing her to sit down while Lucius would come and appear. Pikachu took a seat in the other chair, looking towards Dawn with a scared look. Dawn grabbed her Pokéball and placed Quilava back in its rightful place, not wanting Quilava to view anything if things went wrong. Dawn looked before her, seeing the man that had taken her away from Ash, noticing that Pikachu was becoming tense.

"Melanie, Conway. Thank you for bringing me the girl." Lucius stepped forward, instructing the grunts to leave the room while he and Dawn had a chat. Melanie and Conway nodded their heads, exiting the room in one swift moment. Lucius looked intently at Dawn as if he were studying some ancient scroll. He became more intrigued at the fact that she was sitting before him. "Dawn, it's so great to see you again."

"What do you want with me?" Dawn suddenly became defensive. Lucius just chuckled, walking over to Dawn not wanting to scare her.

"Dawn, what makes you think that I want anything to do you with you?" Lucius feigned innocence.

"If you didn't want anything to do with me then you wouldn't have kidnapped me." Dawn stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Not quite Dawn, not quite." Lucius took a seat next to Pikachu, noticing the Pokémon looking nervous. "What's the matter Pikachu? I'm not going to hurt you." The man reached over to pat Pikachu's head, making Pikachu uneasy.

"Why don't you just cut the chit chat and tell us why you wanted us here?" Dawn snapped. Lucius looked to the coordinator, folding his hands.

"I've been watching you Dawn. I've been watching you grow into such a lovely young lady. You've taken the footsteps of a certain coordinator that I know and loved dearly." Dawn raised an eyebrow at the man, hoping for him to continue with his rant.

"What coordinator?" Dawn asked.

"She was one of the top coordinators in the Sinnoh region." Lucius said. "She had a Glameow, kind of like…oh dear me. Like your mother." Dawn gasped slightly. Lucius knew her mother and he loved her, meaning that he was probably interested in knowing information about her. Dawn crossed her arms, not wanting to say another word.

"If you do anything to hurt my mother then you will regret it, you evil scum!" Dawn yelled. Lucius looked calmly at Dawn, not sure why she was being so edgy.

"Dawn, I don't want to hurt your mother." Lucius then became serious. "I just want to know how she's been. She hasn't heard from me in a while and I just miss her."

"She never mentioned you." Dawn wondered if Lucius was trying to pull her into some type of ploy.

"She never mentioned me?" Lucius sounded almost as if he was shocked, but Dawn was sure that he was faking it.

"No, she never mentioned any of her friends named Lucius." Dawn admitted. Lucius continued to stare at her, looking as if he were hurt. Dawn was still sure that this was a part of his plan, but Dawn concluded that he really _was _hurt after he didn't say anything.

"I thought I meant more to her than that." Lucius banged his fist on the table, looking into Dawn's eyes.

"Why would she want to know you? You work for Team Electric! You're a lowlife scum bent on greed while she's a top coordinator. Why would she want _anything _to do with _you_?" Dawn exclaimed. Lucius looked in disgust towards Dawn, getting up and heading back to his chair in the conference room.

"Melanie! Conway! Take the girl back to the dungeon!" Lucius screamed. Melanie and Conway entered the room once more to take Dawn back to where they knew she wasn't going to be able to escape.

"I just want to know one thing before I go back." Dawn looked strictly at the evil leader. "How did you know about my boyfriend?" Lucius let out a smirk, watching Melanie and Conway take Dawn away.

"Like I said, Dawn." Lucius answered while Pikachu and Dawn went back to their blocked off room. "I've been watching you."

* * *

Cynthia led the teenagers to a cabin that was past the Unova League stadium, a place that Ash had knew about all too well. Ash turned around to the stadium, thinking back to the moment where he had won the Unova League and reached another stepping-stone to his road of being a Pokémon master. Ash was beginning to wish that he had never won the Unova League. If he didn't win the Unova League, then Trip wouldn't have wanted vengeance, he wouldn't have went to Team Electric and Dawn and Pikachu would still be with him. Cynthia knocked on the door and stood back, waiting for Alder to come and get the door.

"Do you think Alder is home?" Paul asked. Cynthia listened intently towards the door, hearing someone fall over inside.

"I'm pretty sure that he's home." Cynthia let out a smile. The door opened to show Alder who looked as if he was just picking himself up after the fall he had moments before. Alder coughed slightly to the others, sheepishly taking the bucket that was on his head and chucking it to the side.

"Cynthia, I wasn't expecting your visit for another couple of weeks." Alder looked to the champion.

"I wish that this business was more for pleasure, Alder." Cynthia apologetically said. "But unfortunately, we have a crisis that has to do with Team Electric."

"Team Electric!" Alder sounded surprised. "Come in, come in all of you." Alder opened the door wide allowing the group of teenagers to enter into his cabin. Alder took one look at Paul, watching the brooding trainer enter with his hands in his pockets, a smile forming on his face. "You must be Paul from the Sinnoh League." Paul turned his attention to Alder quickly nodding his head.

"Yes, that's me." Paul answered. Alder scratched his chin thoughtfully, looking at Paul from all angles.

"You're brooding, serious, and you depend on the strongest Pokémon. You remind me of me when I was your age." Paul's eyes widened even further, almost becoming star struck.

"Really?" Paul sounded almost excited. Alder let out a hearty laugh, shaking his head.

"Oh heavens no. I was actually more carefree with my Pokémon." Alder continued to laugh. Paul's star struck expression quickly diminished and his face turned into a scowl.

"Hardy, har, har." Paul muttered under his breath, walking past Alder. Alder closed the door to his cottage, turning to the trainers.

"So, what's this about Team Electric?" Alder looked to Ash, noticing that Ash had been rather quiet. "Is Ash okay?"

"His Pikachu had been kidnapped by Team Electric." Cynthia solemnly answered. "Along with his girlfriend." Alder let out a chuckle, walking over to Ash and nudged him by his shoulder.

"So our Unova Champion is a ladies man I see." Alder joshed.

"Alder, this is serious. The young lady was captured by the man named Lucius." Cynthia scolded her friend.

"Why did he want the young lady?" Alder suddenly became confused before turning to Ash. "What was your young lady's name my friend?" Ash looked to Alder, unsure if he should answer. He didn't want Alder to crack a joke about Dawn like Alder did about Paul's personality.

"Will you just tell the man her name?" Paul rudely asked Ash. Ash let out a sigh, turning to the Unova Champion.

"Her name's Dawn." Ash was expecting a joke to come but Alder's joke never came. Instead, Alder made a 'tsk' noise, walking to the window to stare out intently.

"Is something wrong Alder?" Brock questioned.

"What's the matter Alder, no joke?" Paul mockingly asked. Ash walked over to Paul, nudging him in the ribs.

"Cool it with the attitude." Ash whispered harshly to his competitor. Paul scoffed, looking away from Ash not even focusing on Alder.

"So, Lucius finally found her." Alder muttered. Ash wanted to know what the big deal was. Why was Dawn such a big deal to Lucius?

"Alder, what are you talking about?" Ash wondered. Alder walked over to his video phone, dialing a number.

"I think that if you're going to hear the story then you better hear the story from the person that knows the story the best." Alder stood for a moment, waiting for the other person on the line to pick up. The next thing they knew, Johanna picked up the phone, causing Ash to look nervous.

"_Alder, what a surprise. I wasn't expecting you to call._" Johanna let out a smile. She then noticed that Ash was in the background, suddenly becoming worried. "_Alder, why is Ash in your living room_?_" _Alder turned to Ash, seeing the teenager giving Alder a nod. Johanna had to know the truth.

"Johanna, there's something that we have to tell you." Alder softly said. Johanna went into full panic mode, wanting to know what was going on.

"_Ash, what is Alder blabbing about now?"_ Johanna sounded stern. Ash walked over to the phone, unprepared to give her the news about her daughter.

"Team Electric kidnapped Dawn." Paul blurted out from the corner of the room.

"PAUL!" Everyone screeched towards the trainer, although he looked unmoved.

"_WHAT?!_" Johanna looked in shock, almost looking as if she was going to faint. Luckily, her Glameow kept her from falling. Johanna turned her attention to Ash, her eyebrows furrowing. "_I thought that I said I didn't want her to know about Lucius, Ash!_" Everyone turned to Ash, wanting to know what Johanna had meant.

"I kind of promised that I wouldn't have Dawn ever meet Lucius. But I didn't know that Team Electric was coming towards the Pokémon lab." Ash responded honestly.

"Ash didn't know that they were going to the Pokémon lab." Gary defended his friend. "It's not his fault that they have Dawn. They used that darn Jigglypuff."

"_Did you just say that he used a Jigglypuff?_" Johanna questioned.

"Yeah, do you know about it?" Ash suddenly became interested.

"_Of course I do._" Johanna looked down to the ground before looking back at the screen. "_I might as well tell you this now since it's gotten out of hand. I knew Lucius ever since we were teenagers. We actually met at the Sinnoh Grand Festival. My mother had warned me that I shouldn't have gotten involved with Lucius but I was determined to prove to my mother that Lucius wasn't as dangerous as everyone was making him out to be. Lucius was a Pokémon researcher in training, kind of like Gary but unlike Gary, Lucius was determined on trying to bring out the power of every Pokémon, believing that every Pokémon's true power was deep inside. He wanted to dig to the core, no matter how painful it was. I wasn't liking what I was seeing with Lucius one bit, so I planned on breaking up with him. But—there was something big that stopped me._"

"What stopped you?" Ash wondered. Paul slapped his own forehead in disgust. He couldn't believe that Ash could have been _that_ stupid.

"I can't believe that you asked that. Put together the context clues." Paul walked over to his rival who was still dumbfounded. "You really don't know what stopped her do you?"

"All right hot shot Pokémon trainer." Misty smirked at the ruminating trainer. "If you're so smart at putting things together, then why don't you tell Ash and everyone else in the room what stopped Dawn's mom from leaving Lucius?"

"Fine I will then." Paul turned to Ash with a know it all expression. "Obviously Lucius had more power that Johanna. His Pokémon were more powerful and he knew dangerous secrets about how he could take over the Pokémon world, but forced Johanna to stay with him or else he would hurt her Pokémon."

"_Sorry Paul, not even close_." Johanna admitted. Paul turned to Misty who was busy laughing at the trainer. Paul couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed.

"So if it wasn't about power, then what was it?" Paul asked.

"_Let's just say that 9 months later—Dawn came along_." Johanna feebly told the other trainers. Ash began to derive a conclusion before his eyes widened in astonishment.

"Lucius is Dawn's _father_?!" Ash blurted out, looking as if he was going to pass out at any moment.

"_That's what I didn't want to tell you_." Johanna crossed her arms. "_I knew that you were going to tell Dawn about her father and I had a feeling that she was curious about him_."

"So Lucius is bent on destruction but all he wanted was to see his daughter?" Ash questioned. Johanna sadly shook her head.

"_Ash, Lucius is dangerous. He'll do anything to get ultimate power, even if it means hurting his daughter. I didn't want Dawn to know him because I knew that if I had told her about him and if he had hurt her then she'll never forgive me_." Johanna explained.

"But how do you think she feels now?" Ash worried. "What if Lucius hurts her and she blames you for _not _telling her?"

"_Trust me Ash, I thought about that."_ Johanna answered. "_I figured it would be better if I didn't tell her, but now look at the mess that she's in._"

"Don't worry Johanna, I'll bring Dawn home. I promise on my life." Ash swore.

"_I know you will Ash, I don't have to worry about you_." Johanna smiled towards Ash. "_I just want you to be careful. If something happened to you, Dawn would be heartbroken._"

"You sound like my mother." Ash joked a bit before turning serious. "But I will bring Dawn home. I guarantee it." Ash looked over to his friends, all of them giving Ash a look of encouragement. As soon as Ash hung up the phone call with Johanna, he looked to his friends, heading towards the door of Alder's cottage.

"Is everyone ready to go and find Team Electric and bring Dawn and Pikachu home?" Ash questioned.

"We're ready." Gary put a thumb up to support Ash. Ash nodded his head, heading towards the exit of the door—but was stopped by Alder.

"Hold on young one." Alder looked to the trainers. "Do you even know where Team Electric _is_?"

"No, we don't." Ash admitted, feeling deflated once again. Just as soon as he thought he was getting somewhere, he had to take another step back.

"Which is why I think it would be a good idea if we send a Pokémon that can fly out there to find Team Electric's headquarters before we begin our trek." Alder suggested.

"Wait, you plan on coming with us?" Brock asked.

"Of course I plan on going with you guys!" Alder exclaimed. "I'm not letting young teenagers go on their journey alone."

"Well, first thing's first. We have to be able to find Team Electric." Ash walked outside of the cottage to pull out a Pokéball. "Swellow! I choose you!" Ash yelled out, unleashing his Swellow into the sky. "I need you to find this ship and then report back to me, all right?" Ash showed Swellow a picture to give the Pokémon a clearer image.

"Swellow!" Swellow nodded his head, flying off to see if he could find the ship. That was going to be the easy part. The hard part was telling Ash and the others where the ship was located. Ash watched his Pokémon fly though the sky, feeling that he had done all that he could do in the meantime. He just hoped that Dawn and Pikachu were safe. Ash entered back inside, giving the trainers a thumb up, meaning that Swellow had gone to find the ship.

"Don't worry Ash." Gary assured his friend. "Swellow is going to find the ship and we'll stop Team Electric before they reach the island."

"I hope you're right Gary." Ash was feeling hopeless. "Without Pikachu or Dawn, I feel so alone. I haven't felt this way in a long time."

"Which is why we are going to help you get Dawn and Pikachu back." Cynthia assured the trainer. Ash quickly perked up at Cynthia's words, thinking of what he was going to do next. Ash looked out at the sky, hoping that Swellow would be back before sundown. If not, finding the ship was going to take a long time.

* * *

"So, they planned on sending a Swellow to try to find our base." Melanie reported from the computer. Conway looked over at his partner, a smirk forming on his face.

"Well then, how about we just give them a surprise?" Conway suggested.

"I think that sounds like the perfect plan." Melanie snickered, before unleashing a Pokémon into the sky to go and find Swellow. "Night, night Swellow."

* * *

While Swellow searched for the ship, he couldn't help but look down at the beauty of Unova. He figured out why Ash loved Unova so much. It was beautiful. Swellow was so into his thoughts, he didn't notice that there was a flying squirrel type Pokémon coming towards him. Swellow figured that he would ask the Pokémon if he had seen a ship anywhere around there. Swellow then retracted his actions when he noticed the Pokémon wasn't going to help him. Instead, the Pokémon looked mad—extremely mad. Swellow figured the best way to avoid the Pokémon was to go around it and ask another Pokémon for directions, but the squirrel Pokémon wasn't going to have any of that. It began to follow Swellow's tracks, making the bird Pokémon uneasy.

"Swellow! Swellow!" Swellow yelled at the Pokémon, hoping that it would cut it out. Unfortunately, the electric squirrel Pokémon decided to unleash a powerful Thunderbolt, one that would send Swellow off his tracks and into the unknown forest. Swellow was sure that he would hit the ground with a thud, until he suddenly transported from the ground into the arms of a preteen boy. The boy straightened up his black glasses, unbelieving that he had saved a Swellow from further damage.

"Man, you look in bad shape." The boy sighed. A girl that looked to be older than the boy walked over to him with her hands on her hips.

"You really need to stop running off!" The girl scolded. "I don't know why mom and dad made me bring you to Unova. You're old enough to go on a journey all by yourself. "

"Calm down, will you?" The boy didn't understand what had the girl in such a sour mood. "This Swellow looks awfully familiar." The boy said after a moment.

"Maybe we should take it to the Pokémon center. I saw one nearby." The girl pointed towards the closest down. The Swellow began to move in the boy's arms, trying to break free and do what his trainer had told him.

"Swellow, Swellow, Swell." Swellow explained. The boy's eyes widened, turning to the girl.

"Of course this Swellow looked familiar." The boy looked back to the Pokémon. "This Swellow belongs to Ash!"

"Ash is in Unova?" The girl wondered.

"Swellow, Swell." Swellow weakly said. The boy looked to his Ralts and back at the girl.

"Maybe we should return Swellow to Ash." The boy thought aloud.

"Sounds like a plan, but I wonder what Swellow was actually doing here." The girl looked around unsure.

"I don't know, but we should probably return Swellow to Ash so that he can treat it. It looks in pretty rough shape." The boy turned to his Pokémon, hoping that Ralts would be willing to help. After Ralts nodded her head, the boy turned his attention back to Swellow. "So where is Ash anyway?"

"Swellow…" Swellow feebly answered. It was enough for the boy and the girl to understand what Swellow meant.

"Ralts, use Transport and take us to Alder's cottage." The boy looked to his Pokémon.

"Ralts." Ralts nodded her head, and the next thing they knew they were in front of the small cabin just past the Unova League Stadium. The boy knocked on the door, hoping that someone would answer. The door opened, and revealed Ash looking at the two trainers and his Swellow in bad shape.

"Swellow!" Ash became worried. "Are you all right?"

"Swellow." Swellow faintly answered, trying to get up from the boy's arms. Ash took the Swellow from the boys hand, but the girl poked Ash's shoulder with a know it all smile.

"Wow Ash, I didn't think it would take you long to figure out that we were here." The girl chuckled. Ash handed Swellow to Brock before turning back to the trainers.

"May, Max. Nice to see you again." Ash let out a small smile. Max looked around, suddenly becoming confused.

"Hey Ash, where's Pikachu?" Ash's smile suddenly vanished, opening the door a little more for the both of them to come inside.

"Come on in, it's a long story." May and Max entered the cabin, about to hear Ash's horrifying tale that yet to have a happy conclusion.

* * *

Deep in the forests of Unova, Ash wasn't the only one that was interested in trying to find Team Electric. Another group was very well informed about the Electric Project and how there were Pokémon on another island that could be powerful enough to take over the world. A young man in a black uniform walked to one of the main halls of the room where he was supposed to give his orders to a group dressed as if they were ninjas. The only difference is that on their chest, their emblems were different colors. On one of them, it was blue, on another one, it was red and on the last one, it was green. The man looked at the ninjas, a sly smile forming on his face.

"From my studies it seems that we are not the only ones deep into the Electric Project." The man looked at the three young men standing before him. "Ah, my Shadow Triads. I have a job for you."

"What is this job that you have for us sir?" The Triad in red spoke.

"I need you to find Team Electric at all costs, no matter what." The man put his hand in his black lab coat pockets. "We need to stop them from discovering the true potential of the Electric Project so that we can have sole possession of all of the electric Pokémon in Unova."

"Of course sir." The Triad in blue nodded his head.

'Whatever you say sir." The Triad in green bowed. As the triads turned to the door, the man put a hand up, meaning that he wasn't finished talking yet.

"Red and blue are going to find Team Electric on their own. I have a special job for you green." The man chuckled. The red and blue triads walked out the door while the green one walked back to the man.

"What's this special job?" the green one asked.

"Everything you need to know is on this piece of paper." The man handed the green triad a paper that had instructions. "Follow those and you'll find Team Electric before the red and blue triads do. They'll meet you at the site of Team Electric's headquarters where we will attack. Once Team Electric is gone, we'll head to the island and find that legendary Zapdos and Pikachu, drain their power and taking over the world." The green triad bowed his head to his leader, doing what the man had instructed him to do. The green triad headed out the door, leaving the man deep in his thoughts. He turned around at one of the cameras that his team had placed all over the island of Unova, where the scene was none other than the Unova Champion Alder's cottage—where Ash and his friends were currently staying.


	7. Friend or Foe?

**A/N: Hello there everyone! Here is a brand new chapter of _Pokémon: The Electric Project_! Once again, thank you everyone who reviewed the last chapter and once again a special thank you for Madame Rodoshe for giving me awesome ideas for the story! You guys are completely awesome. Now, onto the new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: For the 10 millionth and 20 billionth time-I don't own Pokémon. :)**

* * *

"That's so terrible." May finally answered after Ash had told the tale of what led them to Alder's cottage. Max and May sat down in the two empty chairs, watching Ash run his fingers through his hair in shock.

"You're telling me." Ash finally answered. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Swellow can't find Team Electric's hide out because it looks like they have someone guarding it."

"That Pokémon that shocked Swellow must have been a tough one." Max said.

"Any electric type is tough on Swellow." Ash clenched his teeth while slapping his hand to his forehead. "I should have known not to send Swellow out there when Team Electric has a type advantage over it."

"You weren't thinking about that when you sent Swellow out." Gary tried to sound soothing towards his friend. "You were just worried about Pikachu and Dawn It's not your fault." Ash looked to his friend before turning his attention towards Brock.

"How's Swellow?" Ash wondered. Brock rotated to his friend with a small smile.

"Swellow's going to be just fine. He'll heal but we should get Swellow to a Pokémon Center before we start looking for Team Electric though." Brock stood up from his position, viewing at the bird type Pokémon.

"Swellow, I'm so sorry." Ash observed to his Pokémon with a guilty face expression.

"Swellow, Swellow." Swellow shook its head as if to say it wasn't Ash's fault that it was hurt. Ash walked over to pet Swellow on its head before taking out its Pokéball.

"Swellow, return." Ash said. In a flash, Swellow went back into its Pokéball to make traveling to the Pokémon Center easier. "We should head to the Pokémon Center in order to plan our strategy."

"That sounds like a good idea, Ash." Cynthia agreed. Alder looked over to the Sinnoh Champion with a confused look.

"So we're listening to the kid now?" Alder pointed over to the teenager.

"Alder, once in a while young people have good ideas." Cynthia playfully answered to her friend.

"I didn't say they didn't." Alder shrugged his shoulders, turning back to the group of teenagers.

"They fight like an old married couple." Daisy whispered over to her brother. Gary crossed his arms, raising his eyebrow.

"I hate to say it, but you're right." Gary answered back. _So he wasn't being hostile, that's some progress._ Daisy thought to herself. _There's still a lot of work to be done_.

"All right, let's go to the nearest Pokémon Center." Ash concluded.

"Wait, there's just one problem." Everyone turned to the corner of the room where Paul had his hand stuffed in his pockets. "What if someone from Team Electric recognizes us and they come and take us?" Everyone looked astonished at Paul, unbelieving that they didn't think of it sooner.

"Don't worry, they won't." Max let out a sly grin towards the Pokémon trainer. "Ralts can transport us to the Pokémon Center."

"Are you sure that Ralts is strong enough to transport all of us to the Pokémon center?" Paul let out a scoff.

"What are you trying to say?" Max became defensive before Ash put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Don't mind him." Ash shook his head. "He's always like that." Ash let out a glare towards Paul, but Paul looked away.

"All right, let's head to the Pokémon center by teleportation." May looked to her brother with a smile.

"Sounds good to me." Zoey looked over to the young Pokémon trainer.

"All right, Ralts! Use Transport and take us to the Pokémon Center." Max looked over to his Pokémon with a grin.

"Ralts." Ralts nodded her head in agreement. Before they knew it, they were in front of the Pokémon Center. Max turned his head to Paul, seeing that Paul was surprised that they were there.

"Something wrong?" Max raised his glasses up to his face. Paul quickly shook his head, walking ahead of the other trainers in hope that he could straighten his face again. Ash chuckled, patting Max on the back.

"Well, looks like you showed Paul." Ash and Max shared a smile before entering the Pokémon Center. Brock rushed ahead of the others, knocking Gary into Zoey and knocking Ash into May. Everyone knew where Brock was heading to—right towards Nurse Joy.

"Nurse Joy, it's so wonderful to see you." Brock spoke, completely love-struck over the Pokémon nurse. "I know you have one love which is taking care of Pokémon, but let me be the second love of your life! Together, we can love the world, and love each other!"

_WHAM!_

In a second, Brock was on the floor writhing in pain caused by none other than Brock's Croagunk using Poison Jab. Brock groaned in agony causing the others to look at Brock with a feeble smile on their faces.

"Or…not." Brock replied in discomfort. Max and Misty walked towards Croagunk to help pull Brock away from Nurse Joy—as far as they possibly could.

"Croagunk." Croagunk muttered towards Misty and Max.

"So I'm taking a guess that Brock hasn't stopped with the lady antics." Max and Misty let out a smile towards the Pokémon. Croagunk simply shook his head, allowing Misty and Max to help him pull Brock away in an orderly fashion. Nurse Joy noticed Ash walking towards her, a grin forming on her face as if nothing happened.

"So what can I help you with?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Do you think that you can heal my Swellow, Nurse Joy?" Ash questioned holding the Pokéball in his hand. Nurse Joy nodded her head, taking the Pokéball from Ash.

"Of course dear. Your Swellow will be as good as new." Nurse Joy handed the Pokéball to her Chansey before walking away to take care of another child's Pokémon. Ash sat in one of the chairs looking at the television that was on the screen.

"There has to be a reason that Team Electric stole Pikachu. I mean, I get why Lucius kidnapped Dawn, but Pikachu?" Ash was still baffled.

"It's simple nimrod." Paul sat in the seat next to Ash, turning to him. "Pikachu's an electric type. In order to find the Zapdos, Team Electric needs a Pokémon that strong enough to take down Zapdos."

"But there's something wrong though." Gary couldn't help but shake the feeling he had since reading Daisy's research up to this point. "What's Zapdos doing on the island by himself with the powerful Pikachu?"

"What do you mean Gary?" Zoey turned to Gary with interest.

"I mean, Zapdos is a part of the three most powerful flying Pokémon along with Moltres and Articuno." Gary answered. "I mean it being by itself is actually very rare."

"And when did you come up with that observation?" Ash looked over to his friend.

"I noticed it when I was reading Daisy's research. I didn't say anything because I wasn't as certain as I am now." Gary admitted. "I mean, Zapdos being by itself is as rare as Croagunk letting Brock hit on women."

"So why didn't you say something before?" Daisy looked over to her brother.

"Like I said, I wasn't sure!" Gary exclaimed.

"Gary, cool it." Ash furrowed his eyebrows. Gary turned to find Misty, Max and Brock heading back inside the Pokémon Center. He took that as his chance to exit the Pokémon center and get some air.

"Come on Eevee, let's get some air." Gary curved to the Pokémon on his shoulder, walking out the door.

"Why does he do that every time we get into an argument?" Daisy looked over to Zoey, hoping that maybe she could talk some sense into him. "Zoey, do you think that you could do me a favor and talk to Gary for me?"

"You want me to talk to Gary for you?" Zoey pointed to herself. "I doubt Gary even wants to talk to me. He thinks I broke up with him, remember?"

"But he still loves you, I know he does. He'll listen to you because you're the person that he can't lose no matter what. He's just hurt right now." Daisy assured her. Zoey looked over to Ash, wondering if she should. Ash was the closest to Gary, so it made sense to ask Ash what he believed.

"Ash, what do you think I should do?" Zoey questioned.

"Go and talk to him. He can't keep storming out every time he and Daisy get into an argument." Ash answered softly. Zoey headed out the door to see if she could talk some sense into Gary, with the possibility of rekindling their relationship. Zoey saw Gary sitting on one of the benches, his face saddened. Zoey could see that Gary was hurting, and although she was probably the last person that he wanted to speak to, she had to be there for him. Zoey walked up to bench, pointing at it with a small smile.

"Is this seat taken?" Gary turned his head to see Zoey smiling down at him. If he was furious he would have told her to go away and let him be. The only problem was—he didn't want to be alone. Gary moved over, allowing Zoey to sit down next to him. "Everyone noticed that you were a little upset so I decided to come out here and talk to you." Zoey softly said. Gary looked over to Zoey, hurt still in his eyes.

"Well, I don't know if you're the best person to talk to me right now." Gary spoke in a monotone voice.

"Gary, how many times am I going to tell you? I wasn't going to break up with you!" Zoey shouted. Gary looked over to her, not sure if he was to believe her.

"That's what they all say." Gary's cross face softened as he looked up to the sky. "Do you know why I hung up on you?"

"Because you were afraid we were going to break up?" Zoey answered.

"That's part of the reason." Gary admitted. "The other reason is that I felt so guilty because I didn't visit you or anything. I just called you once in a while. After hearing that Dawn went to visit Ash when he was in Unova and they actually spent time together, it made me guilty and made me feel like the worst boyfriend in the whole world."

"But you're not Gary." Zoey assured him, patting his hand. Gary looked down at Zoey's hand, unsure if he should take it. "Gary, you and I were pretty busy."

"But Ash and Dawn were pretty busy and they were able to visit each other." Gary retorted.

"We're not Ash and Dawn, so stop comparing yourself to them." Zoey looked into Gary's eyes. "I didn't mind that we were apart Gary, and do you know why?"

"Why?" Gary became interested.

"Have you ever heard the saying 'distance makes the heart grow fonder'?" Zoey let out a soft smile, tightening her grip on Gary's hand. "Besides, I was going to come and visit you at some point, you know that."

"But because of me, you're going to miss the Johto Grand Festival." Gary noticed Zoey gave a shrug of her shoulders as if it wasn't important.

"There are going to be other contests, but the one thing I can't replace is you. If something happened to you, then I could never live with myself. That's why I came all the way to Kanto to warn you. I didn't want you to get hurt." Gary couldn't believe that Zoey was risking everything, just for him. If it were the other way around, he would have done it in a heartbeat but hearing that Zoey gave up everything for him made Gary realize that she loved him possibly just as much as he loved her. "Do you understand everything now?"

"Yeah, I do." Gary let out a grin before turning apologetic. "I'm sorry Zoey. I should have let you explain."

"Ah, it's all right. Remember last year when we were in Team Rocket's lair and you blurted out that you loved me too much to let me go when I was held by Mewtwo?" Gary's face turned red recalling the moment.

"Yeah, when I said that I was frustrated that you wanted me to leave you." Gary let out an embarrassed chuckle.

"Well, you cared. That's why you said it." Zoey moved her hand to Gary's cheek, seeing his face turn into a small smile. "I realized how much you needed me that day. And I realized how much I needed and still need _you._" That was enough words for Gary to engulf Zoey in a tight hug, a single tear streaming down the side of his cheek. Zoey let a smile creep on her face, knowing that her relationship with Gary was no longer strained. Gary broke the hug to look into Zoey's eyes, feeling the urge to lean closer. Gary unknowingly began to move closer to Zoey to kiss her—until Eevee jumped on Gary's lap with a look of anxiety.

"Huh? Eevee, what's the matter?" Gary questioned. Eevee pointed out to the road, Gary and Zoey following Eevee's gaze.

"What's out there?" Zoey wondered. Eevee jumped off Gary's lap, making yipping noises as if to scare off the oncoming figure.

"Eevee, calm down." Gary looked to his Pokémon who suddenly stopped jumping and making noise. Gary walked forward with Eevee walking ahead of him. There was no way that Eevee was going to let Gary get hurt.

"Gary, be careful." Zoey called out. Gary nodded his head towards Zoey, looking back at the figure. It ended up being a man in a long heavy black robe, with what looked to be a futuristic red eye patch on his left eye. Eevee hissed at the man with Gary keeping his eye on him—and on Eevee.

"I'm seeking the one named Daisy and Gary Oak." The man walked forward, staring at the young Pokémon researcher. Zoey looked petrified towards Gary, but Gary's determined face didn't budge.

"I'm Gary." Gary calmly said. "Who are you and what do you want?" The man simply chuckled, walking around the Pokémon researcher.

"I'm a _friend_, don't worry." The man was sending chills down Gary's spine, but he wasn't going to let it show. Instead, he turned around towards the man, clenching his fist.

"Really? My Eevee doesn't think you're very friendly." Gary pointed towards Eevee who continued to yip at the man. The man noticed Zoey sitting on the bench, a smile forming on his lips.

"And who is this young lady here?" The man started to walk over to Zoey. Gary turned around, suddenly fearing Zoey's safety.

"HEY!" Gary shouted. "Leave her alone!" As quickly as Gary yelled, Gary spotted the Pokémon Center doors opening with his friends running out. Spotting the man, they all began to turn defensive.

"Hey! Leave my brother and his friend alone!" Daisy walked forward. The man let out a smirk, heading towards Daisy.

"So you must be the infamous Daisy Oak." Daisy wanted to back away from the man, suddenly not feeling as brave. Gary stood there, watching the man inconvenience his sister. As annoying as Daisy was at being perfect, Gary had to help her. It was only fair.

"Leave my sister alone!" Gary shouted, pulling a Pokéball from his back pocket.

"Oh, you think that I'm here to battle?" The man let out a chortle. "I'm just here for some _information_." The man turned his attention back to Daisy. Gary had just about enough. No one hurt his sister—except for him.

"If you don't back away in five seconds then I will take out all my Pokémon and make them attack you at once." Gary furrowed his eyebrows. "And you probably won't like that." The man suddenly had Gary's undivided attention, taking out a Pokéball as well.

"Fine, you want to battle me for details on the Electric Project?! Then so it shall be!" The man threw the Pokéball, revealing an Eelektross. Gary continued to stare at the Pokémon unsure of what it was—and he was the Pokémon researcher. Gary pulled out his Pokédex and scanned for the Pokémon.

"**Eelektross, the EleFish Pokémon. Eelektross's mouth locks onto its opponents, where upon it delivers an electric shock.**_" _Gary's Pokédex read. Gary put away one of his Pokéball's and retrieved another one.

"Eevee!" Eevee stood before Gary in battle mood. Gary turned towards his Eevee, afraid that she was going to get hurt if she battled the man and his Eelektross.

"Eevee, come back. I don't want you to get hurt." Gary tried his best to sound soothing although he was feeling the pressure.

"What's wrong Gary? Afraid that your Eevee won't be able to beat me?" The man teased. Gary clenched his teeth, looking down to his Eevee.

"Eevee, are you sure about this?" Gary looked to his Pokémon. Eevee nodded her head fiercly, staring at the man. Gary had no choice, he had to let Eevee battle if she wanted to.

"Eelektross, use Thunderbolt." The man scoffed at the normal type Pokémon. Gary figured that the man was going to underestimate Eevee, which was why he had some surprises of his own.

"Eevee, dodge! Then use Flamethrower!" Gary commanded. Eevee quickly dodged the Thunderbolt before unleashing a powerful fire flame towards Eelektross. The man wasn't anticipating Eevee to be so powerful. Eelektross took the hit, flying backwards into the ground before getting up again.

"How dare you defy me boy!" The man yelled towards Gary. Gary rolled his eyes towards the man, not seeing that the man had another powerful weapon on his side. "Use Thunderbolt with more power Eelektross!" Gary noticed the Eelektross charging up a powerful Thunderbolt and aimed it right towards Eevee. Eevee stared at the Thunderbolt, paralyzed in fear.

"EEVEE!" Gary screamed, hoping that she would get out of the way. Before the Thunderbolt hit Eevee, a Solar beam appeared out of nowhere snapping the Thunderbolt in half and disintegrating in the air. Everyone turned their attention to where it came from before noticing a monkey Pokémon in the shade of green with a teenager with green hair, a green bow tie and in a suit. Everyone but Ash looked confused as to who the teenager was.

"No way! Cilan!" Ash exclaimed.

"The first rule to being an evil doer Ghetsis, don't taunt your prey before you've actually killed it. You don't want them to come back swinging. Gary! Attack him! Now!" Cilan screamed the Pokémon researcher. Gary was going to have to ask questions later. Right now, he had to get rid of whoever this guy was.

"Eevee and I were working on something! Why don't we show them Eevee?" Eevee eagerly started running towards Ghetsis and his Eelektross, electricity engulfing her body. In a matter of moments she violently attacked Eelektross and Ghetsis, sending them flying off into a nearby tree.

"Hurry everyone! Before they get ready and attack again." Cilan instructed. The others ran back into the Pokémon Center, staring at Cilan with confusion.

"Ash? What's your relation to grass head over here?" Paul shot his thumb towards Cilan.

"Everyone, this is Cilan. He traveled with me in Unova." Ash introduced Cilan to the others.

"What kind of Pokémon is that?" Zoey looked intrigued at the monkey Pokémon.

"This is Pansage." Cilan introduced to the others with a smile before shooting a look to Paul. "You can look it up on your Pokédex if you want." Paul grabbed his Pokédex out of his backpack and shone it in front of Pansage.

"**No data in this Pokédex.**" Paul's Pokédex spoke out. Paul looked to Gary noticing that Gary was already going inside his bag. Gary flipped out his Pokédex with a smile.

"**Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokémon. Pansage offers leaves on its head to Pokémon that have low energy. The leaves help relieve stress.**" Gary's Pokédex said.

"How does yours have information and mine doesn't?" Paul incredulously stared at the Pokémon researcher.

"Because my grandfather gave me the Pokédex that has information from every Pokémon from Kanto to Unova. You probably need to update your Pokédex, Paul." Gary let out a sly grin. Paul growled in anger before turning towards Cynthia and Alder who were looking out the Pokémon Center window.

"Is that Alder and Cynthia? The Sinnoh and Unova Champions?" Cilan pointed to the window.

"Yep, they're helping us on a mission." Zoey answered before shaking Cilan's hand. "Thank you so much for saving Gary and Eevee. You're a hero." Cilan let out a small blush towards the coordinator, accepting her compliment.

"Well, you're welcome." Cilan said. "Now, if I could get your name that would be lovely." Gary couldn't help but feel anger raising through every bone in his body. Was Cilan hitting on Zoey?!

"My name's Zoey." Zoey blushed while Cilan placed a kiss on Zoey's hand.

"Well then, the pleasure of saving your friend is all mine." Cilan said. He then turned to Gary, almost looking star struck. "You must be Gary Oak. Professor Oak's grandson and also the great Pokémon researcher." Gary suddenly felt his anger diminish staring at Cilan.

"Well, now. You could say that I'm an average Pokémon researcher." Gary tried to sound modest, but his friends weren't going to have that.

"Oh come on Gary, you know that you're better than average." Ash patted his friend on his back.

"You're a great Pokémon researcher." Zoey put a hand on Gary's shoulder. Gary turned to Zoey, his face turning red and a smile creeping on his face.

"And now that we've gotten that out of the way, how about I meet the rest of Ash's eccentric friends?" Cilan probed, pointing to all of them.

"My name's Brock." Brock waved towards Cilan.

"My name's Daisy. I'm Gary's sister." Daisy put an arm around Gary's shoulder but Gary quickly took a step away from her.

"My name's May and this is my brother Max." May pointed over to her brother.

"You know I could have introduced myself." Max crossed his arms.

"By the time you did, you would have gone on a tangent about Pokémon." May looked away from Max.

"I'm Misty…and the grumpy trainer over there is Paul." Misty pointed over to Paul who simply looked away from Misty.

"Do you mind if I ask, what is up with the goofy get up? Did you just come back from being a waiter at some restaurant?" Paul surveyed Cilan.

"Paul!" Ash reprimanded his rival but Cilan let out a chuckle.

"It's fine Ash, don't worry about it." Cilan looked to Ash before turning to Paul. "I'm what you call a Pokémon Connoisseur. I can evaluate the compatibility between Pokémon and their trainers."

"All right then smarty pants prove it." Paul smirked. Cilan turned to Gary and his Eevee deciding that they would have been the perfect examples. Cilan observed them for a long moment, something that was freaking Eevee out. Eevee pressed her claws into Gary's shoulder, prompting him to rub the back of her head to soothe her.

"Gary, it looks like Eevee is your premium brand Pokémon." Cilan said with a smile. Gary looked to Eevee for the first time looking confused.

"What's a premium brand Pokémon?" Gary questioned.

"It just means that you have a great relationship with your Eevee, kind of like Ash and his Pikachu…" Cilan pointed but noticed that Pikachu wasn't on Ash's shoulder. "Ash? Where is Pikachu?"

"Pikachu was captured by Team Electric." Ash solemnly answered. Cilan walked over to his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Then as your friend I will volunteer to help you find Pikachu! Is that why Cynthia and Alder are here?" Cilan pointed back towards the two champions.

"Yep, they're here to help find Pikachu and to also find Dawn." Ash began to feel more and more depressed.

"Dawn was taken by Team Electric?" Cilan sounded worried.

"Yeah, and we have to find Team Electric in order to get Dawn and Pikachu back." Ash broke out of his depression becoming determined. "Which is why I need your help, Cilan."

"What do you need me to do?" Cilan said without hesitation. Ash let out a smile, glad to rely on his friend.

"Do you mind answering a question for me?" Gary spoke up. Cilan focused his attention to the Pokémon researcher as Gary pointed out the window. "Who was that man?"

"The one that you were battling was named Ghetsis. He's the second hand man in Team Plasma." Cilan answered.

"Team Plasma?" Gary repeated.

"Yep, they're after something called the Electric Project." Cilan said. "They said that with that project they could control all parts of the world."

"The Electric Project was one of my works." Daisy was becoming more and more frightened by what was going on. All of these teams wanted what she was researching, causing her to turn her head to Gary for support. Gary just observed Cilan, interested in what else he knew about Team Plasma.

"Does Team Plasma know about Team Electric?" Gary questioned.

"Yep, they know that Team Electric is interested in trying to crack the Electric Project as well." Cilan nodded his head. "As a matter of fact, Ghetsis was probably trying to get information on where to find Team Electric."

"And where on earth would he find Team Electric?" Paul wondered. "We don't even know where Team Electric is."

"Well, did you try getting a Pokémon to survey the area?" Cilan looked over to Ash.

"I tried, but Swellow got hit by an electric Pokémon, hence why we're here." Ash looked over to the counter, hoping that Swellow would be fine soon.

"There are more than one way to find Team Electric. Why don't you try a psychic Pokémon to try to see if they could find the headquarters?" Cilan suggested. Ash looked over to Max, who seemed to be the only one who brought a psychic Pokémon to Unova.

"What do you think Max? Do you think Ralts can find Team Electric's hideout so that we can find Dawn and Pikachu?" Ash was becoming a bit impatient.

"I think she can." Max nodded his head, turning to his Ralts. "What do you think Ralts?"

"Ralts! Ralts!" Ralts quickly nodded her head.

"There has to be more to the reason as to why Zapdos is still on the island where the other electric Pokémon are. It's not only guarding the Pokémon." Gary continued to ponder over Daisy's research. "I have a strong feeling that Zapdos isn't guarding someone, it's guarding _something_."

"So what are you suggesting?" Zoey turned to Gary. Gary rubbed his chin thoughtfully before looking at Daisy.

"Daisy, do you have your USB with you?" Gary wondered.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Daisy took out her USB to sit down next to Gary who took out his laptop. Gary plugged in Daisy's USB, thinking on what could be on the island.

"Ash, I have your Swellow." Ash turned around to see Nurse Joy standing before him. Ash walked over to the desk, grabbed his Swellow and turned to his friends.

"Thanks Nurse Joy." Ash nodded before turning back to his friends. "All right, here's the plan. Gary, you and Daisy are going to stay here and you're going to figure out what else could be on that island. Max and I will go to Team Electric's headquarters in order to find out where they're hiding Dawn and Pikachu."

"So, what are the rest of us going to do?" Misty put her hands on her hips.

"You guys can go and formulate a plan with Cynthia and Alder once Gary and Daisy get more information." Ash answered. Paul suddenly stopped leaning against the wall, heading over towards Ash.

"Listen to me Ketchum and listen to me good." Paul stood in front of Ash. "I don't like your plan because of one reason. I'm not going to stay here with the rest of them. I'm going to go with you and save Dawn and Pikachu and that is final." Ash's eyes widened a bit at Paul's insubordination.

"Paul, you're obviously not thinking clearly." Ash shook his head, but Paul grabbed Ash's arm tightly staring at him, his eyebrows creasing.

"I obviously _am _thinking clearly because if you die and Dawn and Pikachu survive, where the heck are they going to go? Dawn will probably be heartbroken if you die, and I don't think I can handle that." Paul sounded like he was practically begging at the last part of the sentence. Ash released a sly smirk towards his rival.

"You care Paul, admit it." Paul quickly let go of Ash's arm and poked him in the chest while staring in his eyes.

"I do _not_ care!" Paul turned back around grabbing his backpack before turning his attention to Ralts. "Get us to Team Electric's headquarters."

"Ralts." Ralts crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out to Paul. Paul heard Misty and Ash snickering at Ralts' disobedience.

"Try saying please once in a while." Max snapped towards the older Pokémon trainer.

"Mind your elders, kid. Got it?" Paul retorted in the same tone.

"Us arguing isn't going to save anyone." Ash slapped his forehead into his hand. _Paul is going to be a handful, I can already feel it_.

"Ash, do you mind if I go with you guys?" Cilan asked. "Pikachu's my friend and I would like to help."

"Sure, no problem Cilan." Ash gladly could have used the help from his friend from the Unova region.

"Sounds great." Cilan walked over to Ash, Max and Paul to take on the next part of the plan.

"Ash, are you sure that you can take on Team Electric in order to find Dawn and Pikachu?" Cynthia spoke from the window. She didn't want to interrupt the teenagers train of thought since she wanted to see what they would have concluded. She then decided to ask just to make sure that he was thinking clearly.

"I'm positive." Ash nodded his head, grabbing his backpack. "Dawn and Pikachu mean the world to me. I'm not going to let them go because Team Electric wants to take over the world."

"Very well then." Cynthia accepted Ash's decision. "We'll stay here and wait for you to return with Dawn and Pikachu. Then we'll try to figure out what is on the island and go from there."

"Sounds good to me." Ash looked over to Paul, Max, Cilan and Ralts hoping that they were willing to risk their lives for the greater good. "Max, do you think you can ask Ralts to locate Team Electric's location?"

"She's one step ahead of you. She found their ships on Area 28." Max let out a satisfied grin.

"Area 28?" Paul turned to Ash, hoping that he would have clarification.

"Area 28 is known for its UFO sightings." Ash explained. "That sounds like some place that Team Electric would hide their ship."

"Aw, no fair." Gary whined slightly. "I always wanted to visit somewhere that had UFO sightings. There could be ancient Pokémon there."

I doubt there's ancient Pokémon, Gary." Ash assured his friend.

"Can we think of a plan first before we bust in there, take Dawn and Pikachu and then bust out? Just so we don't end up getting captured and in more danger?" Paul figured that no one was thinking ahead. Ash put his hand up, to prevent Paul from acting defensively.

"Calm down Paul." Ash told him before smiling. "I thought of everything. Ralts is going to teleport us inside the building. How hard can it be?"

"Since you're going to Area 28, it would be a good idea if we could have a visual on you." Daisy told them. Gary went into his backpack, pulling out a small microphone and threw it to Ash.

"That way we can communicate. The microphone also has a GPS so we can read your location." Gary said. Ash clipped the microphone to the inside of his shirt, giving Gary a thumb up signal.

"So only Ash gets one?" Paul slightly pouted. "No fair."

"What's wrong Paul? Did you want to be a spy too?" Misty teased.

"Shut up." Paul growled. He tried his best to hide his disappointment from the gym leader.

"All right, all right. Let's get moving." Ash instructed his friends.

"Max, please be careful." May told her brother.

"I will, don't worry May." Max smiled over at May, thinking of something else in the meantime. "If I had died, no one would be able to tell embarrassing stories of you."

"Ooh! Like what?" Gary piped up. May slapped the back of Gary's head and warningly pointed a finger at Max.

"Don't you dare." May steely whispered.

"Okay Max, tell Ralts to transport us." Ash tried to break up _another_ sibling rivalry. Max nodded his head in eagerness.

"Ralts, transport us to Area 28!" Max commanded. And within a second Ash, Paul, Max, Cilan, Pansage and Ralts were all gone. No one noticed but Eevee was sitting by Gary's feet thinking about Pansage and Cilan. Something rubbed her the wrong way about them. She just wasn't sure what it was.

* * *

"Boss, there's something that you're not going to like." Melanie and Conway entered Lucius room in a quick fashion. Lucius turned around; walking over to the two grunts unsure of what was the problem. Trip sat in the chair staring at the others, wanting to know what was causing a threat this time.

"What is it that I'm not going to believe?" Lucius leaned against the wall, not interested in what could possibly come their way.

"Team Plasma is looking for us, and they're also interested in the Electric Project." Conway answered. Lucius's eyes widened at the information, causing him to pound the wall with his fist.

"I don't get it. What's so scary about Team Plasma?" Trip wondered.

"Trip, Team Plasma is dangerous." Melanie focused her attention to the young teenager. "If they get their hands on the Electric Project and find out the true nature of how to take over the Pokémon world then we will be destroyed. We must find a way to crack the Electric Project before Team Plasma does."

"But how are we going to do that? We don't know what exactly were looking for on the island. I mean, all we're looking for is a Zapdos." Trip sighed.

"Maybe instead of us trying to break our heads on what Zapdos is doing on the island, maybe we should hack the Electric Project files again and see how far those Oak brats are in their research." Conway suggested.

"Yes, yes. Sounds like a good idea." Lucius began to calm down after hearing Conway's logic. Melanie ran over to the computer to hack into the file, but found the new password more complicated than the last one.

"What Pokémon is #133 in the Pokédex?" Melanie looked over to Lucius.

"You guys are supposed to be a big organization and you don't have the Pokédex memorized?" Trip scoffed.

"All right hot shot, what Pokémon is #133?" Conway sardonically asked.

"It's Eevee." Trip answered. Melanie typed in the Pokémon but still wasn't getting in the file.

"There has to be more to the password." Melanie growled, becoming frustrated.

"How old is the younger Oak kid. What's his name? Gary." Trip snapped his fingers while trying to remember Gary's name.

"He's seventeen." Lucius wasn't sure where Trip was going with it.

"Type Eevee17 and see what happens." Trip pointed to the computer, giving Melanie instructions. She quickly typed in what Trip suggested and as soon as she pressed enter, she found herself in the Electric Project files.

"Well, well. It looks like Zapdos is guarding something." Melanie looked through the files and pictures. "We just have to wait for those Oak brats to find what Zapdos is guarding and then we can go after it."

"Before Team Plasma?" Trip questioned. "They could be a step ahead of us by now."

"And what makes you say that?" Melanie put her hand on her hips.

"Because I'm reading on my Pokédex that there was a Team Plasma sighting by a nearby Pokémon Center, and guess who was in the middle of the fight with Team Plasma?" Trip handed Lucius the Pokédex to let him have a look for himself.

"Gary Oak." Lucius looked to Trip who simply nodded his head.

"I suggest that we talk to the girl to see what she knows about what Oak knows. His knowledge will benefit us." Trip got up from the chair to head to the room where Dawn and Pikachu were held. Trip turned to the camera to see four figures running through the halls of Team Electric's headquarters—and they weren't grunts of the organization.

"Well, well, well." Lucius looked at the cameras, an evil smile forming on his face. "It seems that Ketchum is coming to us. Maybe we can get _him _to speak instead. And if he doesn't, then we'll find some way to pry it out of his precious _sweetheart_."


	8. Finding Dawn and Pikachu

**A/N: Guess whose back with a brand new chapter? Yes, it is I! Once again, thanks for the reviews for last chapter. And once again, thanks for Madame Rodoshe for helping me extend the plot for my story. This story is now nowhere near done. So make sure you read and enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I didn't own Pokémon yesterday and I don't own it today. Phooey. **

* * *

As soon as Ash, Paul, Cilan and Max reached Area 28 and inside Team Electric's headquarters, they knew they had to think fast in finding Dawn and Pikachu. The question was where were they going to find them? The boys walked along one of the corridors of Team Electric's ship, hoping to find a camera or something to make their jobs slightly easier. While Ash looked into every room, Paul, Cilan and Max continued to walk ahead to keep an eye on any Team Electric grunts.

"Did you find the room full of the cameras yet?" Paul asked his rival who was continuing to look in the rooms.

"No, I didn't find it yet." Ash turned back to Paul, beginning to look frustrated. "I don't think we're ever going to find it."

"Oh come on, stop being pessimistic." Paul rolled his eyes, walking forward. "Being pessimistic is my job."

"Trust me Paul; you're _very_ good at your job." Ash answered, earning a chuckle from Max and Cilan.

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Paul scoffed. Once they reached the end of the hallway, all they found was a door that looked as if it had a lock on it—and there was someone banging on the other side of the door. "Shh." Paul instructed the other trainers. "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah, sounds like someone is banging on the other side." Ash said. Paul took out a Pokéball from his back pocket, a smirk forming on his face.

"Let's just open this door once and for all." Paul was about to throw the Pokéball until Ash grabbed his wrist, causing Paul to let put a slight yell. "Ouch! What was that for?!" Paul pulled his hand away from Ash.

"We don't know who's on the other side of the door." Ash informed him. Paul's eyes widened, realizing that Ash was actually right. It could have been anyone on the other side of the door, and if it were someone from Team Electric then they would have a big problem.

"All right, so what do we do?" Paul put the Pokéball away.

"Maybe we should use Ralts to transport into the room and see if there's anyone there." Cilan suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Max took out the Pokéball, letting Ralts out so she could survey the area. "Ralts, what do you think? Do you think you can go in the room and tell us who's in there?

"Ralts! Ralts quickly nodded her head, looking towards the door with a smile. In a moment, Ralts was gone, but she quickly reappeared. "Ralts, Ralts." Ralts pointed inside the room, becoming uncertain of what was going on.

"Ralts can't get in. There seems to be some sort of Pokémon barrier or something." Max put his hand on the door.

"There may be a barrier on the inside, but not on the outside." Ash walked over to bang on the door. "Hey! Is anyone in there?! Anybody?!" Ash stood there for a moment before hearing a muffled voice—one he instantly recognized.

"_Pika, Pi!_" the voice said from the other side. Ash's face flashed a smile, putting his hand on the door.

"Pikachu! Are you okay?!" Ash shouted.

"_Pika, Pika!"_ Pikachu yelled form the other side of the door. Ash let out a relieved sigh, knowing that Pikachu was all right. However, there was one other question on his mind.

"Pikachu, is Dawn there with you?" Ash cried.

"_Pika, Pikachu!_" Pikachu answered. Ash's face turned determined, looking over to Paul hoping that he would be able to help.

"Paul, Do you have a Pokémon to break open the door?" Ash questioned. Paul took out a Pokéball nodding his head.

"Weavile! Stand by!" Paul threw the Pokéball in the air, a Weavile coming out from the ball. Max awed at Paul's Pokémon, but Cilan had never seen a Pokémon like that before.

"What's a Weavile?" Cilan asked.

"We can get a Pokémon lesson later." Paul snapped. "Right now, we have to break the door down. Weavile! Use Metal Claw on the door." Weavile's hand lit up as Paul commanded, then—

_WHAM!_

The door had a dent in it, meaning that they were going to have to hit it a couple of more times until the door broke. Paul groaned, turning back to his Pokémon, unhappy with the Pokémon's results.

"You were supposed to break the door! You're useless!" Paul scolded. In an attempt to impress his owner, Weavile's hand lit up again, banging on the door.

* * *

On the other end of the door, Dawn shook out of her thoughts turning around to see Pikachu smiling at the door. She had to wonder why Pikachu was standing there with a smile plastered on his face. She didn't think it was an appropriate time since they were in grave danger. She decided to press Pikachu about why he was in such a good mood.

"Pikachu, get away from the door before it hits you." Dawn sounded glum before the door was being broken into. "Ah! Why is the door opening?!" Before Pikachu could answer, the door slammed onto the ground with a gigantic thud, a cloud of dust covering the entranceway. Dawn backed away into the corner, unsure what the person could have been—until she noticed Pikachu running towards the entryway. "Pikachu! Get back here!" Dawn stopped in her tracks as the smoke cleared—seeing none other than Ash engulfing Pikachu in an embrace.

"Pika, Pi! Pikachu! Pika!" Pikachu shouted, giving his owner a lick on his cheek.

"I'm so glad you're safe Pikachu." Ash smiled at the Pokémon before turning his attention to Dawn. Dawn was sure that this was all a dream. Ash wasn't in the room right now trying to save her. It wasn't possible. "Oh, come on now. I don't bite." Ash jokingly said to his girlfriend. Pikachu jumped out of Ash's hands allowing Dawn to walk up to Ash.

"This can't be happening." Dawn muttered. She touched Ash's shoulder, realizing that it wasn't a dream. Everything that was happening was real. Dawn wrapped her arms around Ash, letting out shallow breaths. Ash reciprocated the embrace, engulfing her as tightly as he could.

"Are you all right?" Ash looked into Dawn's eyes, seeing that she was a bit shaken up. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"No, but something _is_ about to happen to you." Realizing that Dawn didn't say anything, Ash turned around to see none other than Lucius standing before them. Ash kept his grip around Dawn, but continued to stare at the man.

"You have some nerve." Ash's tone sounded serious.

"_I _have some nerve?" Lucius pretended to sound surprised. "_You_ have some nerve, trying to sneak into Team Electric's lair, take back your girlfriend and then to top it all off, try to destroy everything I've worked for! I'm trying to find out what Zapdos is doing on the island, and here you come trying to play the hero."

"Oh brother, you have so many issues." Ash rolled his eyes at Lucius.

"Pikachu, Pika!" Pikachu yelled at Lucius.

"Well, as long as you're in this room then it's best to make you all my prisoners _forever_." Lucius grabbed a Pokéball, throwing it in the air to reveal none other than Jigglypuff. Paul growled at the Jigglypuff but Max and Cilan started to laugh aloud.

"Don't take that Jigglypuff for granted." Paul snapped at the others which ceased Max and Cilan's snickering. "That's what got Dawn and Pikachu captured in the first place! Stupid Jigglypuff." Hearing Paul's words, Jigglypuff turned around, puffing itself towards the malicious trainer.

"JIGGLY!" Jigglypuff rolled up and ended up striking Paul in face. Paul flew backwards, landing on the ground while rubbing his nose.

"Like I said, that stupid Jigglypuff!" Paul shouted this time.

"Jigglypuff, why don't we sing a song for our friends here?" Lucius malevolently wondered, pointing straight to Ash and Dawn. Ash began to become defensive but Dawn put a hand on Ash's shoulder, a grin flashing on her face.

"We're about to fall asleep, what's there to smile about?" Ash whispered in Dawn's ear.

"Just watch." Dawn assured him. Jigglypuff began to sing its sweet song, but once it realized that Ash and the others weren't falling asleep, she became worried.

"Jigglypuff?" Jigglypuff snapped out of its song to turn to her owner in confusion.

"What? Why isn't this working?" Lucius turned to Dawn, who simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Trip said the room was Pokémon proof. That means no attacks work in here." Dawn placed her hand on her hip. Ash beamed with pride towards his girlfriend, seeing that she was able to outsmart her father.

"Hmm, I guess I didn't think that part out, now did I?" Lucius scratched his chin while thinking. He then focused over at the other trainers in the room becoming frustrated. "You are not going to ruin the Electric Project for me!"

"Sir!" Melanie ran in the room with her hands on her hips, knocking Paul right into Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff lifted the trainer above her head before tossing him to the opposite side of the room. Paul rubbed the back of his head while muttering angrily.

"That stupid Jigglypuff." Paul gave the Jigglypuff a glare, thinking of ways of making Jigglypuff sorry that he had crossed him.

"There's something wrong. Team Plasma has infiltrated our headquarters!" Melanie sounded fearful.

"Team Plasma?" Dawn turned to Ash looking uncertain.

"I'll explain later." Ash assured her.

"Team Plasma?" Lucius looked shocked before returning his anger to the teenagers in the room. "You led Team Plasma here!"

"No we didn't." Paul got up from the floor. "We used a Pokémon to transport ourselves in here. Team Plasma found you all by themselves. They must be so proud to be here all on their own!"

"Quit the sarcasm kid, this isn't funny!" Melanie turned to Paul. Conway and Trip entered the room staring at the scene before them.

"What is going on here? Why aren't we attacking?" Trip crossed his arms to Lucius.

"The kids are the least of our problems." Lucius answered, looking back at Trip. "Team Plasma is here."

"Excuse me, but I thought you guys were all big and bad. What happened? You're scared by some creepy team." Paul mocked.

"Team Plasma is more dangerous than you could ever imagine." Lucius snapped at the trainer. "If they get their hands on the Electric Project then we could be working for them. We have to find the secret of the Electric Project before Team Plasma can figure it out. They're not that smart."

"If you guys find the secret to the Electric Project, then what's going to stop you from taking over the world?" Ash gave the head of Team Electric a cold glare.

"We can't trust you." Paul agreed, pointing over at the head of Team Electric.

"Unless, I resign from my position of Team Electric and help you find a way to prevent Team Plasma from ruining the world." Lucius turned to Ash and Dawn while speaking.

"Please, like you'd help us." Ash grimaced.

"But I would dear boy, just give me a chance." Lucius looked over to Ash with a smile that Ash was sure was fake. "Do you mind if we talk, man to man?" Ash looked over to Dawn who kept her grip on Ash's shoulder. She then reluctantly let go of Ash, letting her boyfriend walk forward. Ash walked with Lucius in the corner, a glare still on his face. "I just want to get to know Dawn. Is that such a crime?" The man looked over to Dawn, who was still oblivious to the fact that Lucius was related to her.

"Listen, I know that you're her father, but I don't trust you." Ash gave Lucius a steely glare. "I don't think that Dawn would want to have you in her presence. She's already suspicious enough."

"You mean she has no idea about me being her father yet?" Lucius smirked towards him. "She would hate it if she found out that her boyfriend lied to her."

"I didn't lie to her about her dad." Ash whispered harshly to the man.

"No. However, you didn't exactly tell her about her father. I know that you spoke with Johanna about me." Lucius seemed unfazed by Ash's anger.

"Wha…how did you know that I spoke with Dawn's mother?" Ash incredulously asked, the anger suddenly disappearing.

"I know a lot of things Ash." Lucius answered. "I've been keeping an eye on both of you, only because I want to get to know her. I promise that I will leave Team Electric in order to help you fight Team Plasma, and I will only do it to get to know Dawn better." Ash wasn't sure if he could believe Lucius, but if it was the only way to keep an eye on him, then so be it. Ash let out a deflated sigh, giving Lucius a scowl.

"You better promise that you're going to behave, and if you make me even _regret_ this, then I swear I will tear you and your team limb from limb." Ash sounded ghastly angry towards the man.

"Oh, I promise Ash, I do." Lucius nodded his head. But, as Ash turned away to head back to Dawn, he didn't notice Lucius crossing his index and middle fingers behind his back.

"Are you stupid?" Trip pulled Lucius away from the moment, pointing over to Ash and Dawn. "Are you really going to team up with them?"

"It's going to be a ruse boy. Don't you get it?" Lucius whispered in Trip's ear. Trip widened his eyes, nodding his head at the reasoning. "Once those twerps figure out the stupid Electric Project and take Team Plasma away from the picture, then I will be there to swoop in and take over the world from them. It's the perfect plan."

"So what should we do in the meantime?" Trip wondered.

"You're going to follow me, but you're going to be subtle about it. You'll be in charge of Melanie and Conway." Lucius walked away from Trip, leaving the teenager with a determined look on his face. "Now, we have to get rid of Team Plasma before they destroy my ship." Lucius informed Ash and Dawn.

"If we could leave the room then we could help you take care of them." Ash took out a Pokéball, running past Lucius with Pikachu in tow. Dawn stared at Lucius, not certain as to why he was staring at her, but she wasn't in the mood to ask questions. Instead, she ran past Lucius grabbing a Pokéball from her back pocket. Ash and Dawn ran along the corridors of Team Electric's ship, hoping to bump into Team Plasma. "Do you see anything?" Ash turned to his girlfriend, looking hesitant.

"I don't even know what Team Plasma looks like. Can you please explain about them?" Dawn looked over to her boyfriend; not liking the fact that he wasn't filling her in.

"They're these guys that came and attacked Gary at the Pokémon Center." Ash turned around to face her. "That's how Cilan knows about them."

"Cilan knows about them?" Dawn raised her eyebrow. "Is that why he's here?"

"Yeah, he also wants to help Pikachu." Ash answered. "Pikachu's his friend."

"Wait, so is Gary okay?" Dawn speculated.

"Yeah, Gary's fine. Cilan saved Gary and then Gary distracted Ghetsis." Ash explained. "Ghetsis is the second in command of Team Plasma."

"Wait, so I don't get it." Dawn became confused. "What does Team Plasma want with the Electric Project when they don't even specialize in Electric Pokémon?"

"Why don't you ask me yourself?" the voice broke Ash and Dawn's conversation. Ash turned around automatically to find Ghetsis with his Eelektross by his foot.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu became defensive and rushed in front of his friends.

"Ghetsis." Ash snarled.

"My, my. I don't recall meeting your friend." Ghetsis pointed towards Dawn. Ash turned back around seeing Dawn with a determined look on her face.

"Why do you want to know my name?" Dawn glowered towards the man.

"Is everyone after you this week?!" Ash sounded maddened, turning to his girlfriend.

"Eelektross, use Thunderbolt." Ghetsis commanded his Pokémon.

"Pikachu! Use Electro Ball!" Ash countered. Pikachu's tail lit up with an electric ball, countering Eelektross's Thunderbolt. The electric explosion broke the walls of the ship, causing Ash and Dawn to get into a coughing fit.

"Maybe we should fight fire with fire." Dawn looked over to Ash with a smirk on her face.

"Or, just allow me to take care of it." Ash and Dawn let out an exasperated sigh, turning around to see none other than Paul walking towards them.

"Fine, you want to take on Ghetsis. Be our guest." Ash put his hands up in mock defeat. Paul took out a Pokéball, throwing it in the air.

"Electivire, stand by." Paul shouted. Electivire came popping out the Pokéball, turning to the member of Team Plasma. "Use Thunderpunch of Eelektross!" Electivire's hands formed into an electrical ball, aiming towards Eelektross.

"Eelektross, use Acid." Ghetsis opposed. Before Eelektross could unleash an acid attack, Electivire's Thunderpunch jabbed it in the stomach, sending the eel Pokémon back towards his owner. "What a weakling." Ghetsis scoffed at his Pokémon. Paul felt somewhat bothered by Ghetsis's remark as if he had seen that type of training before.

"I think that it's a good idea to get out of here." Max and Cilan ran up to Ash, Dawn and Paul.

"I think that's a good idea too." Ash agreed with his friend. Ash noticed Lucius walking towards the group of teenagers, looking solemn. Ash still wasn't sure what Lucius angle was, but if he was willing to help then he couldn't stop him. "All right, Ralts, get us out of here." Ash turned to Max's Pokémon. Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder while Ash kept a grip on Dawn, placing his other hand on Ralt's head. In the next moment, they were gone—and Ghetsis let out a small smirk.

"Those brats think that they've won. Well, they don't know that there's much more to what they're about to get themselves into."

* * *

Back at the Pokémon Center, Gary continued to scan Daisy's information feeling a bit restless. It was already getting dark out and everyone decided to go for dinner to discuss the next step of the plan. The problem was they needed Gary to come up with a breakthrough before there was a next step. Gary stifled a yawn, something that was noticed by Eevee. She was currently playing with a foam rubber ball before turning her attention to her trainer.

"Eevee?" Eevee questioned, trying to make sure that her trainer was all right.

"Yeah, I'm fine Eevee." Gary smiled at his Pokémon, not wanting her to worry. "This is just becoming really frustrating. I don't have a clue as to what Zapdos is guarding on the island, and I have to admit that I'm getting hungry." Gary heard footsteps behind him, which ended up being none other than Zoey holding a plastic bag in her hand.

"I figured you would be hungry, which is why Eevee asked me to get you some food while you worked." Zoey smiled. Zoey sat next to Gary in one of the chairs, nudging the plastic bag towards him. "I'm sure that you can take a small break and eat dinner. We don't want you to starve. We need you." Gary looked at the food in the bag before leaning in and giving Zoey a quick kiss on her cheek. This was just what he needed right now to distract him from his frustration.

"Thanks." Gary took the food and started to take a bite—until he heard Eevee whine. Gary smiled down at his Pokémon, handing her a biscuit from his tray of food.

"Eevee!" Eevee exclaimed, eating the buttery biscuit. Gary smiled, leaning back on the chair, reverting his attention to the computer. His face then turned serious, wondering if Ash was all right and was successful in getting Dawn and Pikachu back.

"Are you okay Gary?" Zoey questioned. Gary let out a heavily sigh, trying to focus on the computer.

"I just hope Ash is all right. He's been gone for a long time." Gary admitted.

"Ash will be fine. He's always been one to think of how to get out of crazy situations." Zoey assured Gary. Gary turned to Zoey, a smile forming on his face.

"You know what, you're right." Gary turned back to the computer, still thinking about the Electric Project. He was still baffled as to why the Pokémon wanted to stay on the island. Was there something there that they were protecting and if so, what was it worth?

"Forget about the Electric Project for now, Gary." Zoey urged Gary to eat his food. Gary reluctantly closed the laptop to put it to the side. Gary crossed his arms, still thinking. Zoey couldn't help but let out a smile. Even when Gary was supposed to shut off his brain for five seconds, he was still thinking. Zoey turned her head when she noticed a flash in the middle of the Pokémon Center, Gary's eyes following the flash as well. Eevee tensed up for a moment, and then started yipping at the stranger. Gary understood why Eevee was on edge—Lucius had followed them.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Gary virulently asked Lucius.

"He's here to help stop Team Plasma from taking over the world with the Electric Project." Ash crossed his arms, still not sure if he had made the right decision. Eevee continued yipping at Lucius, then turned her attention to Cilan with her eyebrows furrowing.

"I thought Eevee were supposed to be friendly." Cilan looked to Gary.

"They are, but when they're threatened, they aren't just cute cuddly Pokémon." Gary covered his ears at Eevee's piercing bark.

"And by the sound of that, it seems that Eevee just learned Hyper Voice." Zoey sounded bothered, covering her ears as well. The barking was high pitched, enough to damage someone's hearing.

"All right Eevee, heel." Gary told his Pokémon. Eevee quickly stopped her yipping, curling her tail in front of her paws as she sat down. "Good girl." Gary gave Eevee a quick smile. Eevee smiled back at Gary before keeping her eye on Lucius and Cilan.

"Do you think that we can talk, Ash?" Zoey questioned eyeing the Pokémon trainer.

"Nice to know that we're being ignored." Dawn spoke aloud.

"Pika, Pika." Pikachu agreed, sitting on Ash's shoulder. Gary quickly walked over to Dawn, engulfing her into a hug. Dawn looked over to Gary, a smile shining on her face.

"Are you and Pikachu all right?" Gary pondered.

"Yeah, we're fine Gary. Don't worry about us." Dawn emitted a grin at the Pokémon researcher that had been somewhat of a brother figure to her.

"Good." Gary nodded his head, keeping his hands on Dawn's shoulders.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Ash looked to Gary, giving him a look to remove his hands from Dawn's shoulders. Gary let go of Dawn, leading Ash to the other side of the room.

"Why did you bring Lucius here? He's bad." Gary tried to reason with his friend.

"With Team Plasma being a threat, he said that he wanted to join us in order to take down Team Plasma, although I'm not sure that I believe him." Ash sighed.

"So why is he here?" Zoey wanted to know.

"Because it's the only way that we can keep an eye on him." Ash articulated.

"And you know what?" Gary turned his attention to Zoey for the moment. "That actually makes sense. Keeping an eye on Lucius could give us the upper hand."

"All right, he can stay but you better watch him." Zoey pointed her finger to Ash.

"I promise I'll watch him." Ash said. He turned back around seeing Lucius looking around at the Pokémon Center. "If I don't keep an eye on him, then someone could get hurt." The doors to the Pokémon Center opened to reveal May, Misty, Brock, Cynthia, Daisy and Alder entering after having dinner. Their faces flashed into a grin in seeing Ash return with Dawn and Pikachu.

"Dawn! Pikachu! You're all right!" Brock smiled.

"Yep, we're okay!" Dawn said.

"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder to head over to Brock.

"Thank goodness that you're all right." Cynthia sounded relieved. Paul stuffed his hands in his pockets, walking out of the Pokémon Center, something that Misty caught. "Ash, you should probably go and get Dawn and Pikachu some dinner while I speak with Gary about why Lucius is here." Gary sent out a scowl to his childhood friend before discharging a groan. As close as Ash and Gary were, Gary hated to be the one that had to explain Ash's actions.

"Yes, Cynthia." Gary agreed. Zoey put a hand on Gary's shoulder giving him a reassuring look. Ash took the opportunity to take Dawn and Pikachu out of the Pokémon Center.

"I owe you one." Ash muttered to Gary before rushing out the Center, leaving Gary with the same scowl he had moments before on his face.

* * *

After dinner, Ash and Dawn walked slowly back to the Pokémon Center, hand in hand not saying much. There wasn't much to say—Lucius was at the Pokémon Center, something that made Dawn feel uncomfortable. Ash didn't want the walk back to be awkward, so he looked Dawn in the eye to try to figure out what was bothering her.

"Dawn?" Ash softly said. Dawn turned to her boyfriend, not sure why he was looking guilty.

"Yes, Ash?" Dawn stopped walking and walked over to the bench to sit him down.

"I'm sorry about bringing Lucius with us." Ash began. "It's just that I wanted to keep an eye on him if Team Plasma happens to be a bigger threat than Team Electric." Dawn realized that Ash was thinking about the man that resembled her so much.

"I understand why you did it, don't worry." Dawn assured Ash that she wasn't angry, however Ash continued to feel guilt.

"If you feel uncomfortable around Lucius, I understand completely." Ash wanted to make sure that they were both on the same page.

"I have to admit, he scares me a bit." Dawn shuddered. "But, I promise that I'll try to stay out of his way." Ash looked down at the ground, wondering if he should tell Dawn what her mother had said about Lucius. Dawn had the right to know, but the question was—how would she react. "Ash? You're not saying anything again."

"I was just thinking, about how I don't want to lose you again." After thinking it over for a moment, Ash decided not to tell Dawn just yet. He didn't want to worry her.

"You know, you're not going to lose me, all right?" Dawn placed a hand on Ash's cheek.

"I lost you once this week; I don't think I can bear to lose you again." At Ash's words, Dawn pulled Ash into a hug, wanting to forget everything for the moment.

"You won't, all right? I promise." Dawn looked into Ash's eyes and pressed her lips to his, kissing him for the first time since she had been captured. Dawn removed her lips from Ash's while placing her forehead to his, staring in his brown eyes. "I love you, okay? And nothing or anyone is going to change that. Even if I happened to get captured again sometime in the near future, that won't change how much I love my sweet, honest guy." Ash felt his heart sink when Dawn told him that he was so honest. In fact, Ash was beginning to feel sick to his stomach from all the guilt. _I don't think I'm _that_ honest, _Ash thought to himself. Ash didn't want Dawn to think anything was wrong, so he did what he did best—pretending that everything was fine.

"I love you too, Dawn." Ash finally whispered after a moment of silence. Dawn stood up from the bench, holding out her hand for Ash to take. Ash grabbed Dawn's hand with Dawn pulling him up until he was back on his feet. "Are you sure you want to go to the Pokémon Center?"

"Sure, that way I can bug Gary." Dawn let out a mischievous grin.

"You know, whatever you do, Gary's just going to get you back." Ash answered playfully.

"And let me guess, you'd help him?" Dawn squeezed Ash's hand, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Why do you think I'm always in cahoots with Gary?" Ash feigned shock.

"Because aside from Pikachu, Gary's your best friend." Dawn looked into Ash's eyes as they started to head back to the Pokémon Center.

"Good point, good point." Ash chuckled as they walked back to the Pokémon Center, for the first time in a while feeling free and not worrying about a thing.

* * *

Unfortunately, the same couldn't have been said for Paul who was standing on the balcony looking up at the stars. After seeing the way Ghetsis treat his Eelektross back at Team Electric's headquarters, he had a nagging feeling about the way that he had treated his Pokémon. For the first time in a long time, he had been feeling remorse, wondering if maybe all this time Ash had been right about the way he had been treating his Pokémon. He had hoped that no one had noticed his absence—he was wrong. Misty came out on the balcony as well, staring out at the sky.

"It's a beautiful night." Misty said aloud, hoping to get a response from Paul. Paul merely continued looking at sky. "I love stargazing. Do you see those stars over there? They look like a Marill." Paul stared at the stars, shaking his head.

"They all look like stars." Paul commented. Misty walked over, putting a hand on Paul's shoulder, something that surprised him.

"You should try using your imagination once in a while." Misty looked back at the sky, pointing once again. "Here, open up your mind and then look at the stars." Paul took a deep breath, looking up at the stars once again, and this time he noticed a Marill in the sky, in the same spot where he thought it was just stars moment before.

"I see it." Paul looked amazed—a slight smile appearing on his face. "Wow, I think that one up there looks like a Raichu." Misty followed Paul's gaze, noticing the stars that were clumped together in the shape of a Raichu. Misty let out a grin, turning back to the trainer.

"I see it! I see the Raichu." Misty pointed out at the sky. She decided to try one more. She looked into the sky, pointing once again. "That one looks like an Electivire!" Paul noticed the shape in the sky, and the small smile that appeared suddenly vanished. Misty noticed the quick change in Paul's attitude, becoming concerned. "Paul, is something the matter?" Paul had remembered why he was standing on the balcony in the first place—thinking some of his training methods over. He had no one to confide in, so he might as well ask Misty for some advice. She was the closest thing to a powerful trainer that he was going to get at this hour of the night.

"I was just thinking over my training method with my Pokémon." Paul admitted, turning his head to the gym leader. "When I was battling Ghetsis today, I noticed how he was being harsh to his Eelektross, and it got me wondering if that's how I treat my Pokémon."

"Paul, you have to understand that Ghetsis is a part of Team Plasma, which is an evil organization. Your Pokémon love you no matter what." Misty tried to cheer him up. Paul scoffed, shaking his head.

"I try to bring out the strength in my Pokémon, but showering them in love is going to make them spoiled." Paul furrowed his eyebrows. Misty turned around heading back inside the room. "Where are you going?" Paul became interested.

"Follow me; I want to show you something." Misty spoke while heading into the room. Paul thought for a moment if he should follow Misty or not, then after contemplating he followed her to the lower level outside the Pokémon Center. Paul looked around before taking out his Pokédex to check the time.

"It's late. What are we doing out here?" Paul questioned. Misty pulled out a Pokéball and threw it, revealing Azurill. Paul remembered the Azurill from when he first went to the Pokémon lab in the morning and Misty had snuck up on him. That was when Daisy accused them of 'aggressive flirting'. "That's Azurill."

"Yes, and I wanted to show you something about Azurill. Are you willing to look?" Misty turned to the Pokémon trainer and asked.

"Sure, fine." Paul stuck his hands in his pockets, hiding his interest in seeing what Misty was doing with Azurill. Surely, in Paul's mind the Pokémon was small which meant it wasn't going to do serious damage.

"Azurill, use Water Gun on the tree over there." Misty told her Pokémon. Azurill geared up and released a water gun. It was so powerful that it split the tree in half, sending both halves crashing to the ground. Paul's eyes widened, taking his hands out of his pockets to slowly clap for the water Pokémon.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Paul exclaimed. "It's just an Azurill, so how did it learn how to do a water gun that's so powerful?" Azurill ran over to Misty in which Misty picked up her Pokémon.

"Training, more training and most importantly, lots of love." Misty explained. "I know love isn't really a trait when it comes to training your Pokémon, but your Pokémon love the way that you push them. It's just sometimes, Pokémon want to be told when they do a good job and not always scolded on the things they do wrong. Would you learn faster if someone praised you for doing it the right way or if you were scolded every time you did something wrong by the tiniest bit of margins?" Paul considered Misty's words for a moment, getting the gist of what she was saying. Paul walked over to Misty and patted Azurill's head, his smile returning. "Also, just so you know, you're a lot cooler when you smile. You don't have to be upset all the time." Paul stared into Misty's blue eyes, thinking about her words for a moment.

"I'll consider your words." Paul stifled a yawn before noticing that Azurill shared the same feeling with Paul.

"Well, it looks like it's time for us to go to bed." Misty gave a tired smile to Paul, walking back to the Pokémon Center. "We'll see you in the morning. Goodnight Paul."

"Goodnight, carrot top." Paul replied in a tone that was almost affectionate. Misty chuckled towards the trainer before heading to her room. Paul continued to stare towards the door, thinking about Misty's talk. If he took anything away from the conversation it would have to be that he was falling for Misty—and he had to admit that he liked it.

* * *

**A/N: Surprise, another author note! All right, quiz time! During this chapter there was a running gag. What was the running gag? :)**


	9. Meeting Irene

**A/N: Hello all! Here's a brand new chapter of the story! Hope you enjoy! Once again, thanks for all the reviews and thanks to Madame Rodoshe for letting me use her character in my story. Well, on with the story! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, but again-I wish I did. **

* * *

Gary had spent all night on his laptop, trying to figure out how the Electric Project could be so interesting to not only Team Electric, but also to Team Plasma. If electric Pokémon were the key to the Electric Project, then why was Team Plasma so fascinated in it? Was it because it was the most powerful Pokémon that any of them had ever seen? The more hours he spent on his laptop trying to find something, the more frustrated he became. In this particular moment, Gary was beginning to hate being a Pokémon researcher. At around three in the morning, Gary finally gave into sleep, napping on the couches in the Pokémon Center lobby. As soon as he felt that he went to sleep, he felt someone nudging at him. His eyes slowly opened to find none other than his sister, Daisy with a concerned look on her face.

"Gary?" Daisy looked at her brother. Gary abruptly stood up, surveying his surroundings.

"Wha…what time is it?" Gary rubbed the back of his head.

"It's seven in the morning. You dozed off in the lobby." Daisy sat next to her brother, looking at the laptop on the table. "I also think your laptop battery died." Gary quickly went into his backpack to grab the charger for the laptop. He needed to figure this out, and it had to be done now.

"I have to figure out what is it the Zapdos is guarding." Daisy couldn't help but feel guilt-ridden. Because of her, Gary was hungry and sleep deprived. He looked as if he had been sitting there, just trying to find something, anything. Daisy slowly took the laptop charger away from Gary, starling the Pokémon researcher. "What are you doing? Give me that! I need to figure this out."

"No, you _need_ to go upstairs and get some sleep." Daisy told her brother. "You've been up all night trying to figure out a breakthrough in the Electric Project, but you can't do that because your brain is fried." Gary wasn't sure why Daisy was suddenly concerned about him. She never showed concern before. In fact, Gary was just the small fly on the wall when it came to their family.

"Since when do you care if I sleep or eat?" Gary snapped, trying to take back the laptop charger. Daisy placed a hand on his shoulder, causing Gary to stop what he was doing and stare at his sister.

"Since I realized that because of me, you're going completely insane over this. I want to stop Team Plasma and Team Electric too, but there's no way that we're going to do that if you're not taking care of yourself." Gary would have argued with Daisy, but he had to admit he was just too tired to say anything else. "So, why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep? I'll look through the cameras on the island and then if I find anything, I'll wake you up. Okay? Besides, Zoey's worried about you." Gary had completely forgotten that he had told Zoey the night before that he was going to get some rest, but instead he found himself glued to the laptop. Gary got up from the chair, not sure if he should thank his sister or not.

"Why are you doing this?" Gary questioned.

"What do you mean?" Daisy became confused.

"Why are you trying to get me away from the laptop? You just want to find out about the Electric Project by yourself, don't you?" Gary's eyes widened. Daisy got up from the chair, chuckling at her brother.

"And this is how I know you're tired. You're paranoid. Go to sleep Gary." Daisy softly told her brother. Gary wanted to stay and help some more, but finally relented and started heading towards the rooms in the Pokémon Center.

"All right. Come on Eevee, let's get some sleep." Gary let out a yawn. He turned around noticing that Eevee wasn't following him. Where did Eevee go? "Eevee? Eevee, where are you?" Daisy and Gary looked around the lobby for the young Pokémon, but they couldn't find her anywhere. "Eevee, Eevee!" Gary began to worry.

"Gary, we're going to find Eevee, all right?" Daisy tried to comfort her brother. She knew that Eevee had meant so much to him, and it would have pained her to see Gary so broken up about losing Eevee.

"We have to. Besides Ash, Eevee's my best friend." Gary almost sounded as if he was whining.

"We'll find her. Here, you look in here and I'll check outside." Daisy started to head outside the Pokémon Center. As Daisy left, Gary looked under the sofas, the coffee tables and even behind Nurse Joy's desk. Where was Eevee?

* * *

Outside, Eevee was busy trying to play. She knew that Gary had been busy all night, so she wanted to give him some space while she went to explore the surroundings around her. Eevee had never been to Unova before, so to finally come here and explore all the new Pokémon was interesting. Eevee didn't know that from a distance, she was being watched. As Eevee continued to a play, a Pokémon snuck up behind her, wanting to get a closer look at the fox type Pokémon.

"All right Cinccino, use Giga Impact!" A voice yelled from behind. Eevee turned around to find a girl with long pink bubblegum hair wearing a red V-neck mini dress, white gloves, white belt, pink and black knee high boots and a black cap with a white bow standing before her, ordering her Pokémon to attack. Eevee became frightened, unsure of what was going on. Who was this girl and what did she want? Cinccino stared to gather her Giga Impact, but Eevee quickly started to run towards the Pokémon Center. "Oh no you don't! Cinccino, run after that Eevee! I need to catch it!" That was when Eevee realized that the girl thought that Eevee was a wild Pokémon! She wanted to catch Eevee, and take her away from Gary. Eevee continued to run for the Pokémon Center, but stopped in her tracks when she was hit with a Thunder attack. Eevee fell to the floor, turning around to see the young girl stand before her. "Go Pokéball!" The girl shouted. The ball hit Eevee in the head and opened up—but then flew right back towards the girl. "Hey, what gives?"

"That's not a wild Eevee!" The girl looked up to see Daisy run up to the young Pokémon. "That Eevee already has an owner." The girl suddenly felt embarrassed, seeing that Eevee was completely frightened of her.

"Oh dear. I'm sorry little Eevee. I thought you were a wild Pokémon." The girl held out her hand, not wanting to frighten Eevee any longer. Eevee smelled her hand and when she realized that the girl wasn't going to cause her any harm, she licked her fingers causing the girl to laugh. The girl then turned to Daisy with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare your Eevee."

"Oh, this Eevee isn't mine." Daisy shook her head, picking up the Pokémon. "This is my brother's. He's been looking for her everywhere. My name's Daisy." Daisy held out her hand with a smile.

"My name's Irene and this is Cinccino." The girl pointed to her Pokémon who proudly stood tall. "We were just looking for the Pokémon Center."

"Come on, I'll lead the way." Daisy turned around with Eevee in her hands and they walked towards the Pokémon Center with Irene and Cinccino in tow. Daisy and Irene reached the Pokémon Center to find Gary looking more frazzled than when Daisy had left. _Eevee going missing must have really messed with his emotions, _Daisy thought to herself. "Gary, I have someone who wants to see you." Gary quickly turned around to find Eevee in Daisy's arms.

"Eevee!" Gary shouted excitedly, running towards his sister. Gary took Eevee from Daisy's hands before his face turned stern. "Don't you ever run off again, do you understand me?" Gary scolded. Eevee pouted, not meaning to make Gary upset with her. Gary's face softened at the Pokémon, making him feel guilty that he had scolded her. "I'm just glad you're all right." Gary and Eevee were knocked out of their reunion when Irene walked over to him with a huge grin on her face.

"Oh my goodness! You're Gary Oak!" The bubblegum haired trainer looked absolutely love-struck. "After all these years of having your posters on my wall, you're finally here, in front of me! I always dreamed of this day where you would be in front of me. Let us love each other, and only one another and together we could be an unstoppable Pokémon power couple!"

_SWISH!_

Irene fell quickly into reality when Cinccino splashed her with a powerful Aqua Tail. She then grabbed her trainer, starting to pull her away from the Pokémon researcher.

"Great, a girl version of Brock." Gary sarcastically muttered. Daisy couldn't help but let out a small grin at the girl who was currently arguing with her Pokémon. Gary walked over to his sister, looking amazed. "I really can't thank you enough for finding Eevee for me."

"Of course Gary. Anything for my little brother." Daisy ruffled through Gary's hair, emitting a smile from Gary's lips.

"I'm off to bed. If you find anything about the project, let me know." Gary held Eevee close to him, walking up the stairs still smiling about his sister. _Maybe Daisy isn't all that bad._

* * *

In one of the rooms, Ash and Pikachu were still in a peaceful slumber, unaware of the time. Dawn had entered the room to see her boyfriend and his Pokémon knocked out, in which she chuckled at him. It was just like him to sleep for long periods of time. She then realized that Team Plasma wasn't going to sit back, so she had to wake him up so they could discuss what they were going to do next. Dawn walked over to the bed and nudged Ash, only earning a slight groan as he reached for a pillow.

"What?" Ash sounded annoyed that he woke up from his slumber. Dawn knew Ash wasn't a morning person, so she let his annoyed tone slide.

"Get up sleepy head. We still have to figure out the Electric Project." Dawn spoke in a cheerful voice. Ash simply groaned and kept the pillow over his head. Pikachu however, woke up as soon as Dawn mentioned the Electric Project.

"Pika, Pikachu?" Pikachu turned to Dawn then looked back down to Ash. Dawn rolled her eyes, shaking Ash so that he would get up and help her.

"Dawn, can I please just get five more minutes of sleep?" Ash begged. Dawn shook her head beginning to feel bothered herself.

"No, you can't." Dawn firmly said. She didn't want to go to the last resort—but she had no choice. "Pikachu, can you please wake Ash up?" Pikachu nodded his head, letting out a powerful electrical shock that went through Ash's body and sent him flying off the bed. "Are you up now?" Ash slowly got up from the floor, his hair sticking up from the electricity.

"Yes Dawn, I'm up now." Ash gritted his teeth while answering, earning a chuckle from Dawn and Pikachu. _This is going to be one long day, _Ash thought to himself. About 20 minutes later, Ash and Dawn were heading to the lobby of the Pokémon Center when they bumped into Brock. Dawn and Pikachu gave a cheerful smile while Ash was still in a sour mood from waking up excessively early for his liking.

"Good morning Ash, Dawn." Brock nodded his head over to the couple.

"Morning Brock." Dawn smiled.

"Yeah, morning." Ash bitterly added.

"Ash, you're acting like Paul. Is everything okay?" Brock wondered. Ash gave Dawn a scowl before turning back to Brock.

"Dawn had the most unconventional way to wake me up this morning." Ash grumbled, walking past Dawn and Brock. "I need some coffee." As Ash trudged down the stairs, Dawn and Brock exchanged a glance.

"How did you wake Ash up?" Brock crossed his arms. Dawn turned red at Brock's question.

"I used Pikachu to shock him." Dawn admitted.

"Yeah, Ash might be in a bad mood for a while." Brock shook his head, a grin appearing on his face. "But he'll get over it. He never stays mad at you for long." Brock led Dawn down the stairs to the lobby of the Pokémon Center, until something caught his eye. It was none other than Irene sitting there with Daisy! "I don't believe it." Brock appeared as if he was shocked. Daisy and Irene turned their heads to the stairs to find Dawn and Brock standing there. Irene quickly got up from her seat, walking over to Brock. Dawn began to worry that Brock was going to go into his state where he flirted with women, but when both Irene and Brock hugged one another, Dawn's worries quickly vanished.

"I can't believe that you're here." Irene smiled.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either! What are you doing in Unova?" Brock sounded excited.

"I figured I would come to Unova and check out all of the amazing Pokémon. My mother says that she misses your home cooking. The way you make beef stew is simply amazing." Irene gushed. Dawn noticed Ash coming back with two cups of coffee, handing Dawn one of them while looking jumbled.

"Dawn? Who is Brock talking to?" Ash questioned.

"I have no idea." Dawn shook her head. Irene turned her attention to Ash and Dawn, and the next thing any of them knew, Irene ran over to Ash with a love-struck gaze.

"You're Ash Ketchum! You won the Unova Pokémon League! I've been following your battles ever since the Indigo League! You're an inspiration to me and you're so much cuter in person!" Irene held Ash's free hand, making Ash feel a bit uncomfortable—and making Dawn envious.

"Yeah, that's great." Dawn grabbed Ash's free wrist and removed his free hand from Irene's.

"Well hello there, I'm Irene! Ash's future wife!" Irene smirked towards Dawn. Dawn let out a mischievous grin, holding out her hand.

"Hi there, I'm Dawn. Ash's _girlfriend_." Irene quickly stared at the blue haired Pokémon coordinator, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Oops." Irene turned to Ash who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"It's true. She's my girlfriend." Ash answered. Irene didn't seem to let that setback stop her. She appeared just as confident as she was moments before. "Do you mind if I ask, how do you and Brock know each other?"

"We know each other because I know her cousin from Pewter City." Brock explained. "Her cousin Debbie is an assistant with Professor Ivy in the Orange Islands, but she comes home for Thanksgiving and stuff every year. My parents are also good friends with Irene's mother, Karissa."

"You mean Karissa the top coordinator?!" Dawn's eyes widened in amazement. "She won the Hoenn, Kanto and Sinnoh Grand Festival when she was our age!"

"So you've heard of her." Irene smiled at Dawn.

"Yeah, I've heard of her. She's amazing. I heard she's a florist now." Dawn had a feeling that she was going to get along with Irene—once she stopped fangirling over every guy she saw—especially her boyfriend.

"Yep, she sells the most beautiful flowers." Irene proudly boasted. "I'm following in her footsteps, which is why I came to Unova to participate in Pokémon contests! That's why I caught my Cinccino, so we could be the best Pokémon coordinating team!"

"That sounds great and all." Ash hated to be the bearer of bad news, once again. "But there are _no_ contests in Unova." Irene's determined demeanor quickly became deflated.

"Not even one contest?" Irene tried to have some hope.

"Not a single one." Ash shook his head. "Contests are new to the people of Unova."

"Aww, that stinks." Irene snapped her fingers. She then turned to Brock, becoming attentive. "So, what are you doing here Brock?"

"We're working on a project with Gary and his sister Daisy. If you met Daisy, then you have to meet Gary." Brock pointed towards the older Oak sibling.

"I met Gary this morning. He was looking for his Eevee, which is just the cutest little darling." Irene gushed.

"Did he find Eevee?" Ash sounded concerned.

"Yeah, I tried to catch her, thinking she was a wild Pokémon." Irene admitted, blushing at her error.

"I don't think we have to tell Gary that part." Brock smiled. Dawn, Ash, Brock and Irene turned their heads to see Paul entering the room, his hands shoved in his pockets in a seemingly good mood. Paul had been in a good mood since last night, when Misty had given him some good advice. Unfortunately, Paul's good mood wasn't going to last for long since Irene ran over to Paul looking once again, love-struck.

"You must be Paul! You were in the Sinnoh League with Ash!" Irene gushed. Paul became irritated at the Pokémon trainer, so he stepped around her shaking his head.

"Leave me alone." Paul muttered, heading towards the lounging area to sit next to Daisy. Irene felt hurt, unsure what she had done to make Paul upset.

"Don't let Paul get to you." Dawn soothed Irene. "He's always in a grumpy mood."

"Yeah, that's just how Paul says he cares." Ash joked.

"I don't care!" Paul yelled from across the room hearing Ash's joke.

"Why would you do that?" Dawn put her hands on her hips, staring at Ash. "You know Paul hates that."

"Which is why I say it. To bother him." Ash slyly smiled towards his girlfriend.

"Paul's going to find some way to get you back for that, Ash." Dawn crossed her arms. Before Ash could answer to Dawn's comment, Zoey entered the room being in an upright attitude.

"Good morning everyone." Zoey cheerfully said.

"Good morning Zoey." Dawn answered back. "Where's Gary?"

"Gary went to bed at seven this morning so Cynthia agreed to let him sleep in." Zoey explained. "He's been working on trying to dig into the Electric Project all night."

"The Electric Project?" Irene piped up. Zoey turned her attention to the young Pokémon coordinator in the room, instantly recognizing her.

"Hi Irene!" Zoey waved.

"You know Irene too?" Paul turned around, sounding almost disgusted.

"Yes, I know Irene." Zoey ignored Paul's attitude, turning back to the others. "Irene's grandmother lives in Snowpoint City, which is where I'm from _Paul_."

"All right, all right. I'm sorry." Paul put his hands up to prevent Zoey from getting more peeved than she was.

"I don't think I've ever heard Paul say that he was sorry." Ash whispered to Dawn and Brock.

"Don't get used to it Ketchum." Paul continued to look at Daisy's computer screen, still seeing that she couldn't figure out the Electric Project. "You still can't find out what's the big breakthrough yet?"

"Nope, and I don't think there _is _a big breakthrough in the Electric Project." Daisy closed the laptop in defeat. "Gary had been searching all night on this computer and I've been searching. I can't find anything out."

"Do you think another Professor knows about this project? Professor Oak, Professor Rowan, maybe Professor Juniper?" Paul suggested.

"You know Paul, that's not a bad idea at all." Daisy thought for a moment. "I was working on it a bit with Professor Rowan, but he only helped me as far as to locate the island where Zapdos lives. I doubt he could tell us what Zapdos is doing there or what it's guarding."

"Well, do you think I could see the laptop for a moment?" Paul wondered. "Maybe we can't find the breakthrough of the Electric Project, but it wouldn't hurt to check about the Zapdos." Daisy handed Paul the computer who then sat down and started to type into the search engine. After a few clicks, a grin appeared on Paul's face. "I found something about the Zapdos."

"What? What did you find?" Ash ran over to look at the screen.

"Hold your Horsea, give me a minute." Paul read the article before turning to the others. "You weren't the only one to find this Zapdos, Daisy. According to this website, this Zapdos has been around centuries. It is one of the oldest Zapdos in the history of Pokémon. Legend says that the reason that the Zapdos lives so long is from all the electricity on the island, but there is one page that is from a Professor that says there's a yellow crystal somewhere on the island that the Zapdos is protecting. Unfortunately, no one on the island knows where the crystal is."

"So do you think that the crystal is the key to us finding out more about the Electric Project?" Daisy asked.

"Probably, but the word of this doctor—Dr. Yung isn't going to help us." Paul didn't notice Ash and Brock's face tense up from the mentioning of Dr. Yung.

"Unfortunately, we can't listen to a word that Dr. Yung says." Brock sighed.

"The guys a whack job." Ash added.

"Pika." Pikachu spoke in the same tone as Ash and Brock.

"What if on the off chance, Dr. Yung was right?" Dawn questioned.

"Dr. Yung probably only wanted the Zapdos so he could make a mirage Pokémon out of it." Ash sighed.

"That's why he did his research. Dr. Yung's not the most reliable source." Brock explained.

"So now we're back to square one." Zoey sighed, showing frustration.

"We could do some more research on the Zapdos. If we don't know about the Electric Project then we might as well try to find as much information on the Zapdos as we can." Paul studied the information on the computer, typing in another search.

"Then how about you do that and I go get some breakfast." Daisy suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Brock nodded his head before turning to Irene. "Would you like to join us for breakfast Irene? You might have to wait a while for your Pokémon."

"Yeah, sounds good." Irene followed Brock and Daisy to get some food while Ash, Dawn and Zoey continued to stare at Paul.

"We might want to leave Paul to his work." Zoey suggested. "I'll go and check on Gary. Maybe you two might want to check on Lucius to make sure he isn't doing anything that will jeopardize this mission."

"Will do." Dawn agreed. Zoey turned to the exit, leaving Ash and Dawn on another mission of their own, finding Lucius and keeping an eye on him.

* * *

Even though Gary was supposed to be sleeping, he couldn't seem to empty his thoughts and drift away into a slumber. He was too interested in the Electric Project and discovering what it was really about. He had to also admit that he wanted to be the hero and find the reason that Team Electric and Team Plasma wanted to take over the world with it. Gary lay in bed, but his eyes were wide open, looking out the window. He heard the door open, revealing it to be Zoey who tried her best to tiptoe into the room. Gary figured that it was time to wake up, so he removed the sheets from the bed and stretched out seeing Zoey standing by the foot of his bed.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Zoey chuckled.

"Morning." Gary let out a loud yawn while scratching his hair. Zoey's smile quickly vanished, seeing that Gary was exhausted.

"Did you sleep at all since you came up here?" Zoey questioned with her hands on her hips.

"Sure, I did." Gary lied. "I slept like a baby."

"Gary." Zoey _knew_ Gary wasn't being honest with her, and she didn't like the fact that he was lying. Gary knew that Zoey could see right through him.

"I didn't sleep at all." Gary truthfully answered. "I was too busy thinking of the Electric Project."

"You really have to stop obsessing over it." Zoey became concerned.

"I can't. The world could be in danger." Gary retorted.

"Gary, but you not sleeping and not eating right isn't healthy. You need to relax." Zoey sighed.

"I will relax, as soon as all of this is over." Gary stubbornly answered.

"Gary!" Zoey yelled out in frustration. Zoey and Gary's arguing woke up Eevee, as she turned her attention to the quarreling couple.

"Eevee!" Eevee yipped towards Gary and Zoey. Gary covered his ears with Zoey doing the same.

"Eevee! Okay, we get it." Gary snapped at his Pokémon. Eevee started to pout which made Gary automatically feel remorseful. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to yell at you."

"You see, your emotions are all over the place." Zoey started to head out the door. "If you don't sleep now, you never know when you're going to find the time to sleep." Zoey left Gary in his thoughts, before Gary stubbornly grabbed his backpack.

"I don't need sleep." Gary told Eevee. "Maybe 20 cups of coffee, but I'll be fine. Let her just wait and see." While Gary started to head out the door, Eevee stared at her trainer with concern. Gary not eating or sleeping wasn't a good thing, and she was worried he was going to eventually crash and burn—literally.

* * *

Back downstairs, Paul continued to look through the computer about information on the Zapdos. He couldn't find anything else other than the fact that it was guarding a special gem—something that made Paul wonder if maybe, there was something more to this project than any of them thought. Paul was so into his thoughts, he didn't notice Misty sitting down next to him.

"Good morning Paul." Misty smiled. Paul looked back at Misty, giving her a small smile.

"Morning, carrot top." Paul looked back to the computer screen. Misty knew that Paul wasn't saying it to be mean, he was saying it because the nickname had caught on—and it was somewhat affectionate and adorable.

"Carrot top, hmm…I don't think I'm going to be able to shake that one, am I?" Misty smirked at the trainer.

"Nope, by the way I think it's adorable." Paul slightly mocked, causing Misty to playfully push Paul's shoulder. Misty then realized that he was searching about the Zapdos that Daisy was doing information on.

"Why are you looking up the Zapdos?" Misty wondered.

"Because, there has to be something that Team Plasma wants. Maybe Team Plasma wants this crystal that Zapdos is guarding just like Dr. Yung wrote about." Mentioning Dr. Yung made Misty cringe—something Paul noticed. "Ash and Brock did the same thing earlier. Is there something about Dr. Yung I don't know about?"

"Let's just say he almost killed Pikachu and Professor Oak." Misty explained short and simple.

"Yikes." Paul answered. The door to the Pokémon Center opened, showing Lucius walking through the lobby. Paul suddenly became tense as he closed the laptop, not wanting Lucius to see the information that was on the screen.

"What were you doing outside?" Misty raised an eyebrow towards the cobalt haired man.

"I was taking care of some business." Lucius answered after considering if he should.

"Does it have anything to do with the missing Pokéball from your waist-belt?" Paul motioned to the belt.

"In fact, it does. I released my Jigglypuff." Lucius then exited the room, causing Paul to release a loud satisfied smile.

"I know, he's gone." Misty let out the same breath.

"Not that, he released that Jigglypuff." Paul sounded content. "Now I never have to see that pink fur ball again." Before Misty could say anything, Irene entered the Pokémon Center holding a Jigglypuff close to her.

"Guys, look what I just caught!" Irene ran over to Paul and Misty. Paul looked as if he was going to be sick any moment. What was Jigglypuff doing here?

"Where did you get the Jigglypuff?" Paul was afraid to know the answer, but he asked anyway.

"That blue haired man released his Pokémon saying that it was worthless, so I caught it. Isn't she cute?" Irene shoved Jigglypuff into Paul's face. The next thing Paul knew, Jigglypuff kicked him in the nose, causing Paul to fall off the couch and onto the floor.

"THAT STUPID JIGGLYPUFF!" Paul shouted from the ground. Misty folded her arms towards Irene, not sure who she was.

"Why did you let Jigglypuff kick Paul in the face? And who _are_ you?" Misty rudely asked.

"My name is Irene, and it's not my fault that my Jigglypuff doesn't like your boyfriend." Irene huffed. Misty took a step back, realizing that Irene had said that Paul was her _boyfriend_.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a moment. Paul's not my boyfriend." Misty raised her eyebrow towards the young trainer.

"But you have a crush on him and he has a crush on you. I can tell." Irene stated in a matter of fact tone. Paul grabbed an empty Pokéball from his back pocket and tried to throw it at Irene's head. Jigglypuff quickly caught notice and smacked the Pokéball back to Paul's forehead, causing him to fall back on the ground.

"Paul!" Misty exclaimed, becoming concerned.

"See, you like him." Irene looked smug. "No one does that unless they like someone."

"Or maybe I'm running to his side because your Jigglypuff could have given him a concussion!" Misty retorted, reverting her attention back to Paul. "Paul, are you okay?" Paul rubbed his forehead, staring at the gym leader.

"I think so." Paul admitted.

"You're not dizzy, are you?" Misty held up her fingers so that Paul could count them, but Paul quickly put Misty's hand done.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Thanks for the concern." Paul then turned to Irene, feeling his anger throughout his body. "And thanks for the concussion. I've always wanted one of those."

"You're welcome!" Irene smiled, oblivious to Paul's sarcasm. Paul groaned, getting back on his feet and staring at the bubblegum haired trainer. He was about to give her a piece of her mind—until he noticed her bracelet.

"Hey, where did you get that bracelet?" Paul pointed to Irene's hand. The bracelet had a ruby crystal on it, something that made Paul curious.

"My grandmother gave it to me. " Irene answered. "She said that it was special. Do you want to take a look at it?" Misty wasn't sure where Paul was going with this—but she wasn't liking the fact that Paul was probably going to spend time with Irene.

"Sure." Irene took the bracelet off her wrist to hand over to Paul. Paul was sure that he had seen something like this before. It was only a matter of where he had seen it.

"I'm going to need to borrow this—which means you're going to have to stick around for a while." Paul hesitated to say the last part. Irene clapped her hands, engulfing Paul into a hug. Paul let out a sigh, then pushed Irene and Jigglypuff away from him.

"Yeah, great. Lesson number one…do not hug me. I'm not a hugger." Paul seethed. Irene walked off with a cheerful smile, leaving Paul cringing in fear. "I hate that Jigglypuff."

"You're not fond of many Pokémon—or people." Misty pointed out.

"Then you must be lucky since I'm fond of you." Paul's small grin returned, causing Misty to blush. "I think you're the only one I can stand."

"Well then, you're the only one I can stand too." Misty playfully pushed Paul's shoulder, earning a chuckle from the usual moody trainer.

* * *

Irene walked outside and found Ash and Dawn looking around, high and low for something—or someone. She walked over to Ash with Cinccino and Jigglypuff following her, wanting to know what exactly they were looking for.

"Is something missing?" Irene asked. Inopportunely, Ash was looking the other way, which caused him to hit a branch from a tree when he turned around to look at Irene.

"OUCH!" Ash grimaced in pain, rubbing his head. Pikachu continued to rub the spot that was bothering the trainer as Dawn ran over to Ash's side.

"Ash, what happened?" Dawn looked to see if Ash had a bump, but he shook off both Dawn and Pikachu not wanting to worry them.

"It's nothing." Ash assured her. He then turned his attention to Irene. "We're looking for Lucius. You know the blue haired guy that owns a—" Ash stopped speaking when he saw the Jigglypuff that Lucius owned standing by Irene. What had happened in the five minutes that Ash turned his back? "Why do you have Lucius's Jigglypuff?"

"Because he didn't want it. He released it, so that means it's mine now." Irene beamed.

"He released Jigglypuff and now you have it?" Dawn slapped her forehead with her hand. "Boy, Paul is going to hate that."

"If you're looking for Lucius, then you have to look inside." Irene pointed to the Pokémon Center. "He went in there after he released Jigglypuff."

"All right, we'll check there." Ash nodded his head, about to make his way to the Pokémon Center until he saw a figure from the corner of his eye. Dawn, Irene and Pikachu followed Ash's gaze, seeing what looked like a ninja, wearing a red symbol in the middle of his chest.

"We're here for the red crystal." The ninja looked right at Irene as he spoke, meaning that she had something that they wanted.

"Wait, you want a red crystal?" Irene's eyes widened, knowing exactly where the crystal went.

"And why on the off chance, should we give the red crystal to you?" Dawn pointed at the red ninja.

"Because if you don't, then I will have no choice but to annihilate you on orders of Team Plasma." The red ninja answered briskly. Dawn, Irene and Ash stared at one another, going into their pockets to get a Pokéball, but found that the ninja was incredibly fast. He was so fast; he knocked Ash, Dawn and Irene over, standing over them with a smirk. "Looks like you have nowhere to go now. Not so tough without your Pokémon, now are you?"

* * *

**A/N: Oh no, looks like our heroes have nowhere to go and are surrounded by this ninja. Who is he? Why does he want the red crystal? Will Paul ever get away from that Jigglypuff?! I guess we'll find out-next time!**


	10. The Key To The Electric Project

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, Ash, Dawn and Irene were cornered by a red ninja who was looking for a crystal. Why was he looking for the crystal? Why did he need it? Will our heroes get out of it? Read to find out! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. (Do I really have to repeat this for every chapter?) :)**

* * *

The young ninja stared down at the three trainers who looked as if they were hopeless. Ash couldn't reach for a Pokéball in his pocket, and Irene and Dawn were too mortified to even move. There was no way that they were going to stop the red ninja—unless…

"Are you ready to say your final words before you are annihilated forever?" the red ninja continued to stare over the teenagers.

"Yeah, I have a few…" Ash's face turned into a cunning smirk. "Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash looked up at the tree to see his friend standing on one of the branches. Pikachu's cheeks were full of electricity, staring at the ninja that had his trainer and friends surrounded. Pikachu aimed the thunderbolt towards the ninja, making him fly back with one direct hit. The ninja stared at the adolescents, seeing Pikachu jumping down onto his trainer's shoulder. Irene stood up quickly, staring at the ninja.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Irene interrogated.

"Why do you care about what I'm doing here?" the ninja countered. "I'm here on orders of Team Plasma to take a red crystal, so let's have it!" The ninja took out a Pokéball, throwing it in the air. The Pokémon revealed to be none other than a Pansear, a fire type monkey Unova Pokémon. Dawn stared at the Pokémon with a jumbled gaze, not sure what Pokémon it was, or how to fight it. In seeing his girlfriend's confusion, Ash pulled out his Pokédex for it to explain the Pokémon to her.

"**Pansear, the High Temp Pokémon. Pansear lives in caves near volcanoes. The temperature on the tuft of its head can reach 600 degrees when its angry.**" The Pokédex said.

"If you're trying to find out more about my Pansear, it's not going to help you!" the red ninja shouted, pointing over to Ash.

"We're going to beat you regardless!" Irene stood up, looking confident.

"Oh really, then you're not going to like this." The red ninja let out a smirk, looking away from his Pokémon. "Pansear, use Solar Beam." Pansear was about to charge out a powerful solar beam, which meant that Ash and the others had to think of a way out of this mess, and fast.

"Cinccino, use Aqua Tail!" Irene looked over to her Pokémon. Dawn took out her Pokéball, throwing it in the air.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!" Dawn yelled out. In a flash, Piplup and Cinccino teamed up together to let out the largest water attack of all time. Ash had wished that he could have helped, but right behind him a Pokémon let out a powerful water attack, hitting Pansear in the chest and causing it to fly back. Piplup and Cinccino stopped in their tracks, turning around to the figure that used the Pokémon. There wasn't a person that used a Pokémon, it was just the Pokémon itself, and that Pokémon—was Ash's Buizel!

"Buizel?!" Ash's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't remember calling Buizel over to Unova, and he certainly didn't bring him along. Buizel must have followed Ash all the way to the Pokémon Center. Right behind Buizel was none other than Ash's Bulbasaur, leaving Ash to scratch his head in confusion. "Bulbasaur?! What are you two doing here?!"

"Bui, Bui!" Buizel paid no attention to his owner, focusing on the Pokémon that was in front of him. Pansear tried to get up, but Buizel wasn't going to have any of that. Buizel emitted a powerful attack from his tail, striking the Fire Type Pokémon to the ground and causing it to faint.

"That was Sonic Boom!" Irene exclaimed, shaking Dawn by her arm in excitement.

"Yeah, I know." Dawn pulled her arm away from Irene, still a little upset that Irene had flirted with her boyfriend earlier in the day.

"I will be back for the red crystal! And when I am, you will be sorry!" the red ninja returned his Pokémon back into the Pokéball and made a dash into the forest. Ash, Dawn and Irene stood there, looking at the red ninja with concern. Ash then realized that he had to focus on his Pokémon, mostly the two stowaways that made their way to Unova without Ash's permission.

"Buizel! Bulbasaur! What were you two thinking, stowing away like that? You could have gotten hurt!" Ash scolded them. Bulbasaur suddenly looked sorry, but Buizel seemed unfazed by his trainers' words. "What do you two have to say for yourselves?" Ash crossed his arms, hoping to hear some sort of apology from them.

"Bulbasaur." Bulbasaur apologized quickly to his trainer, not meaning to disobey him. Ash's face softened towards Bulbasaur, patting him on the head.

"I know you wanted to help, Bulbasaur but next time if I need you let me call for you, all right?" Ash's small smile quickly diminished turning over to Buizel. "And what do you have to say for yourself Buizel?" Buizel crossed his arms, staring at his trainer in a defiant manner.

"Ash, you have to admit, Buizel coming when he did was actually very helpful." Dawn tried to vouch for Buizel.

"But he stowed away after I told him to stay put back at Professor Oak's lab." Ash continued to stare at Buizel, his stern gaze not faltering even though he was speaking to Dawn. Buizel realized he couldn't win the staring match, so he relented and bowed his head in defeat.

"Bui, Bui." Buizel apologized. Ash's stern gaze once again softened at Buizel's apology.

"All right, I forgive you Buizel. Next time, you have to listen to me. All right?" Ash patted the top of Buizel's head, showing his Pokémon that he wasn't mad anymore.

"Buizel looks so cute!" Irene gushed over the water type Pokémon, then staring at Ash. "Kind of like you."

_SPLASH!_

Irene once again was covered in water from Cinccino's Aqua Tail attack, causing Buizel and Bulbasaur to snicker at the wet trainer.

"Oh, come on Cinccino! That wasn't funny!" Irene huffed. Dawn couldn't help but join in on Buizel's and Bulbasaur's chuckle fest.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Dawn said through her laughter. "I think it's kind of funny. You're like the girl version of Brock."

"Yep, you kind of are." Ash agreed with Dawn. Irene simply let out a sigh and headed back into the Pokémon Center with Cinccino and Jigglypuff. Hopefully she had a pair of dry clothes in her backpack that she could change out of—before Paul saw her and poked fun. Irene entered the Pokémon Center hoping to go unnoticed, until she noticed Paul and Misty sitting by the tables, staring at the young Pokémon trainer. Seeing Irene wet from her Cinccino's attack was enough to make Paul to burst out into a fit of laughter.

"What happened to you? Did you fall into a lake?" Paul laughed, unable to control himself.

"As a matter of fact Paul, Ash, Dawn and I were attacked by some ninja." Irene crossed her arms to the trainer. "By the way, why do you like to poke fun at me?"

"He does it to everyone." A voice said from behind her. Irene turned around to find Cilan standing before her with a smile on her face.

"You're Cilan! You're a Pokémon Connoisseur, you're able to determine a relationship with a person's Pokémon!" Hearing Irene fan girl was enough to snap Paul out of his laughing fit, in which he covered his ears.

"Can you stop screaming like an annoying fan girl? Gosh!" Paul's expression was cold yet serious. The next thing Paul knew, he was hit in the back of the head with a Water Gun attack, causing him to fall out of the chair and Misty to grab the laptop before it hit the ground. "All right, whose the wise guy that hit me?!" Paul shouted. Misty turned behind her to find—Jigglypuff with an angry expression on her face.

"If I tell you then you might try to destroy the Pokémon." Misty turned back to Paul.

"Try me." Paul gritted through his teeth.

"It was Jigglypuff." Misty answered after a moment of hesitation. Paul got up from the floor with a Pokéball in his hand. He was seriously about to hurt the poor Jigglypuff!

"That's it you little monster! You're going down!" Paul was about to throw the Pokéball until he felt a hand snake around his waist to pull him back. Paul turned around, to see Misty attempting to hold him back and prevent him from doing something he was going to regret.

"Paul, getting even with Jigglypuff isn't going to solve anything." Misty tried to reason with the Pokémon trainer. Paul looked back to Jigglypuff, seeing that she had an apologetic look on her face. Jigglypuff then held out her hand for Paul to take, as if she was asking Paul to shake her hand.

"Aww, you see. Jigglypuff wants to apologize." Irene gushed. Paul continued to stare at Jigglypuff, reluctant on if he should grab her hand. In the end, Paul decided to walk forward and accept Jigglypuff's apology. Paul bent down to the ground, holding out his hand for Jigglypuff to take. Jigglypuff reached for Paul's hand, then—

_SMACK!_

She ended up smacking Paul on his cheek, her body puffing up in anger. Paul grimaced while rubbing his cheek, then turning his attention to the Jigglypuff, deciding that revenge was the way to go. Paul grabbed a Pokéball from his back pocket, about to throw a Pokémon until Misty grabbed the Pokéball from Paul's hand.

"Irene, can you keep your stupid Jigglypuff away from Paul?!" Misty had enough of Paul being beaten up by the young Pokémon. Irene walked over to pick up Jigglypuff, cuddling with it.

"They just don't understand what a sweetie you are." Irene cooed Jigglypuff.

"A sweetie?!" Paul scoffed. "That Pokémon is dangerous! And it's stupid!" Jigglypuff turned around with daggers in her eyes, about to attack Paul once again had Cilan not intervened.

"Is Jigglypuff your premiere brand?" Cilan questioned. Irene turned back around to Cilan, unsure what he had meant.

"What?" Irene and Jigglypuff gave one another a quizzical look.

"He's asking if Jigglypuff your best friend." Paul explained in a harsh tone.

"I just met Jigglypuff, but Cinccino is my best friend. We've been through a lot together." Irene smiled. Paul turned his attention back to the laptop, opening it up and observing the red crystal on Irene's bracelet. Paul continued to look at the bracelet, curious as to what the red bracelet could mean. "Before I forget, there was this red ninja that came and asked me for some red crystal." That caught Paul's attention as he turned around in shock.

"Wait, there was a ninja that wanted the red crystal? Was there a reason why?" Paul wondered.

"I don't know but they said that they worked for Team Plasma." Irene thought for a moment, wondering who Team Plasma was. Paul turned back around and typed something in the search engine.

"Misty, do you think you can bring everyone into the room? I think I found the reason why Team Plasma and Team Electric are interested in the Electric Project." Paul's eyes widened at the computer while Misty did what Paul asked.

"What is it Paul?" Cilan walked over to the Pokémon trainer, looking over at the computer.

"This is bad, this is very bad." Paul scanned the article, turning to Irene with a frightful look. "This means that as long as Irene has this bracelet, she's in big trouble."

* * *

20 minutes later, the entire gang had gathered around Paul reading the information that he discovered. Paul hated to be the bearer of bad news, but there was no way around this.

"When Irene said that she, Ash and Dawn were attacked by a ninja from Team Plasma for a red crystal, I did some research and there's a legend that says that if there are three crystals that when activated it releases the most powerful crystal of them all: the rainbow crystal. The three crystals are found in different regions that match their element, sort of like if it was a fire crystal it would be found in a place where fire Pokémon reside."

"But I don't understand." Daisy looked to the Pokémon trainer. "Why did the red ninja from Team Plasma want Irene's crystal?"

"I was getting to that." Paul became annoyed that the Pokémon researcher interrupted her. "Apparently, you need a special crystal that could tell you where the other three are, the one that's on Irene's bracelet."

"So that means that the crystal on Irene's bracelet knows exactly where the others are." Dawn turned to the Pokémon trainer.

"Isn't that what I just said?" Paul shook his head, sure that none of them were actually listening.

"You never explained what the rainbow crystal can do." Ash pointed out to his rival. _So someone _was_ listening, _Paul thought to himself.

"The rainbow crystal can control the world of Pokémon. It could be used for good but it could just as easily be used for evil." Paul explained. "That's the key to the Electric Project. The reason that Zapdos is on the island is because it's guarding that thunder crystal along with the other thunder Pokémon."

"And that's why the world's most powerful Pikachu is helping Zapdos too, right?" Gary questioned.

"Right." Paul answered. "It also says that the crystals have to be found in a specific order."

"So we have to find one after the other in the order the computer says?" Dawn sounded a bit skeptical.

"Yes, we have to find them in the exact order. First, we have to find the fire crystal, which is in the shape of a star. We then have to find the ice crystal, which is in the shape of a diamond. Finally, we have to find the thunder crystal, which is in the shape of a heart." Paul continued to read off the computer screen.

"That explains the heart marking on Zapdos." Daisy looked to Gary, seeing that her brother was deep in thought.

"So where are we going to find the other crystals? There's no way that we can find them with just Irene's bracelet." Max told Paul. "I mean, it will tell us where it is but it won't tell us how to get there."

"The computer and the bracelet won't know how to get to the islands…" Cynthia rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"But, us Champions do." Alder finished Cynthia's thought.

"You know where all this is?" Paul raised an eyebrow.

"But of course." Cynthia answered. "We are champions of Sinnoh and Unova of course."

"All right, so where's the location of the fire crystal?" May asked the Sinnoh Champion.

"The first crystal could be found hidden in Mt. Coronet." Cynthia answered.

"But I never noticed any place for a fire type Pokémon in Mt. Coronet." Ash adjusted his cap while Pikachu nodded his head.

"That's because it's hidden." Cynthia said.

"But then that means we have to go back to Sinnoh." Dawn looked over to Lucius who was standing by the corner eyeing the young Pokémon coordinator. There was something oddly familiar about the man, but she wasn't sure what. What Dawn _did_ know was that Lucius was beginning to give her the creeps.

"Maybe Ralts can get us there?" Brock turned to Max, in hopes that Max would agree. Max sadly looked down, unsure if Ralts could help this time.

"I don't think that Ralts can get us all to Sinnoh. That would take too much energy." Max admitted.

"That's all right Max." Ash assured his friend. "We could use the exercise and the adventure anyway."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Zoey agreed.

"Well then, let's start heading to Sinnoh." Alder exclaimed, running out of the Pokémon Center in haste. "Team Electric and Team Plasma can't get to the crystals first! Or else the world will be destroyed!" Everyone stared at the Unova Champion, letting out a sigh.

"This is going to be a long journey." Ash slowly followed Alder.

"Pika." Pikachu agreed with his friend. Paul handed the laptop to Daisy, walking past most of the trainers.

"Well, Paul looks ready for an adventure." Gary satirically said, giving Zoey a small smile. Zoey responded by giving Gary a smile, but when Gary walked ahead of her, the smile vanished. She continued to stare at Gary, wondering if everything was all right.

"Eevee?" Zoey heard Gary's Eevee say. Zoey petted the fox like Pokémon, staring over at her boyfriend in concern.

"Eevee, do you think you can do me a favor and keep an eye on Gary?" Zoey wondered. Eevee quickly nodded her head, willing to help Gary in any way she could. "I just don't think that he's feeling 100%. Something feels off about him."

* * *

Day had turned to night and the trainers along with the champions were still far from the Unova ferry to take them to Sinnoh, meaning that it was time for them to get some sleep for the night. The teenagers had no choice but to set up camp, but Ash was still determined to get to Sinnoh to find the crystals before Team Plasma and Team Electric got their hands on them. Ash didn't notice that Lucius was behind him, staring at the Pokémon trainer and his Pikachu. Pikachu's ears went up and turned around to see Lucius standing there, Ash following his Pokémon's lead.

"What do you want?" Ash bitterly asked the former Team Electric leader.

"I was just checking to see on how my _daughter's_ boyfriend was doing." Lucius smirk wasn't pleasant or friendly. Ash cringed; still unbelieving that Lucius was Dawn's father.

"I'm fine, so why do you care?" Ash stared back out at the road ahead.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice that Dawn still doesn't know the truth about me." Lucius noticed the Pokémon trainer turning back around towards him.

"Maybe because I don't want Dawn to know the truth about you. Did you ever think of that?" Ash continued to have a bitter temperament towards the man.

"Ash, what do you think Dawn will do when she finds out that you haven't been exactly honest with her, that you've known who her father is but refuse to tell her." The tone in Lucius voice was almost as if he was purposely trying to mess with Ash's brain. Ash's face looked guilt-ridden, thinking that maybe what Lucius was saying was the truth. Ash didn't lie to Dawn, but not telling her the truth was just as bad.

"I, I don't know." Ash muttered but then snapped back into his defensive state. "Dawn doesn't need someone like you."

"And who are _you_ to decide?" Lucius sneered. "How long have you actually dated my daughter?"

"Why does it matter to you?" Ash became self-protective. "What happens between me and Dawn is none of your business."

"So something has happened between you and my daughter?" Lucius became intrigued in Ash's relationship issues.

"Nothing has happened, all right? Now leave us alone and stay away from Dawn. The only reason you're here is so that you can help us stop Team Plasma." Ash started to walk away from Lucius but the older man called after the teenager.

"She will find out the truth eventually. And when she does, let's see if she'll want to stay with you then!" Those words were stuck in Ash's mind for the rest of the night.

* * *

That night, Ash stared up at the sky surrounded by his thoughts, contemplating on whether or not he should tell Dawn the truth about Lucius. If he didn't tell her the truth, then Dawn was going to become infuriated and possibly break up with him. However, if he did tell Dawn the truth, she was bound to get angry and blame Ash for not telling her. Ash continued to worry about what he was going to do until Paul and Gary who walked past Ash knocked him out of his thoughts.

"What's going on?" Ash questioned towards his friends. Paul and Gary turned back around to see that Ash wasn't slumbering.

"We were just checking something out." Gary told his comrade.

"We thought we saw someone in the bushes." Paul pointed past the trees.

"Let me go with you guys." Ash got up from the ground and dusted himself off.

"Fine, but you better be quiet." Paul looked away from the trainer, walking towards the bushes. Gary and Ash followed Paul—until Irene stopped them.

"What's going on guys?" Irene batted her eyes towards the teenage boys.

"We're going somewhere and you can't come." Paul taunted. Irene simply pouted but followed the boys anyway into the woods. Apparently, Paul wasn't petrifying enough to discourage Irene from anything. As the four teenagers entered into the woods, they couldn't help but hear quarrelling behind one of the bushes. What was there and why? Ash, Gary, Paul and Irene hid behind the bushes seeing the same red ninja that tried to attack them earlier along with a ninja with a blue emblem on his chest. What were they talking about?

"Do you realize what you've done? You could have jeopardized the entire operation!" The blue ninja said to the red ninja.

"They have the crystal that we need!" The red ninja retorted. "We need that in order to find the crystals and to control the Pokémon world."

"Well we can do that without trying to hurt the operation." The blue ninja relented. "Don't worry; our green triad is taking care of everything else."

"He better, because if he doesn't then we won't have good news for Ghetsis and we'll be in trouble." The red ninja ran off into the forest along with the blue ninja. Ash, Gary and Paul turned to one another before looking out into the wilderness.

"There's another ninja just like them?" Ash pointed.

"I read about them during dinner." Gary spoke in a thoughtful tone. "I was doing research on Team Plasma and they have these types of servants called the Shadow Triads."

"What's a Shadow Triad?" Paul questioned.

"A shadow triad is one of the highest servants to Ghetsis and Team Plasma. Apparently the reason that they exist are because Ghetsis saved their lives at one point, making them loyal to them." Gary answered as the boys and Irene made their way back to camp.

"So they're going after us in order to get more information out of us?" Ash questioned.

"Yeah, you could say that." Gary nodded his head, turning to his friend. "But what I don't get is that they said that there was a third one, one in green."

"So that means there's a third triad out there." Paul concluded.

"We better keep an eye out for the third triad. We're going to need to stop him before he gets information to Ghetsis." Ash turned to Paul and Gary. When the boys and Irene returned to camp, they noticed Dawn, Zoey, Misty, Daisy and May searching high and low for something. "Is everything okay?" Ash looked over to the girls. Dawn quickly turned to Ash, running over to him to engulf him in a hug.

"Where did you go? We were so worried." Dawn stared into Ash's brown eyes.

"We heard something out there." Paul pointed past the trees. "We just wanted to see what was out there."

"Apparently Ghetsis Shadow Triads were following us." Gary told the girls.

"They were? But why would you try to go after them?" Zoey crossed her arms at Gary.

"Eevee, Eevee!" Eevee scolded her trainer. Gary picked Eevee up, giving an apologetic look to Zoey.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." Gary apologized. Gary wrapped Zoey into an embrace, causing the red head to forgive him.

"All right, you're off the hook." Zoey gave Gary a playful grin.

"I was hoping you would say that." Gary returned the playful gesture. Paul looked over to Misty who walked up to him with interest.

"Are you okay?" Misty questioned. Paul thought for a moment before letting out a smile.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Paul and Misty's moment felt their moment intruded when Irene came in between the both of them, a sly grin appearing on her face.

"You so like Paul." Irene looked to Misty. Misty felt as if she was going to hurt Irene any minute, until the look on Paul's face suggested that they needed Irene for the mission. Misty walked away from Irene and Paul, causing Paul's face to twist into confusion. Was she all right and most importantly—did he do something wrong?

"So there's a third triad?" Cilan walked up to the others, unsure why everyone was so worried.

"Yeah, there's a red one, a blue one and a green one." Ash answered his friend. Ash didn't notice that Irene was staring at Cilan, keeping Ash's words in mind. _A green triad, it can't be_. Irene thought to herself. Cilan noticed Irene's gaze, quickly turning his head back towards Ash.

"We might want to get some sleep." May suggested to her friends, letting out a yawn. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah, we still have to find a way to get to the Unova ferry terminal." Ash agreed with his friend. The others slowly walked away into their tents—except for Gary who grabbed his laptop from his backpack, something that Zoey noticed.

"Gary, I think that you should really get some sleep." Zoey whispered. Gary looked to Zoey, holding the laptop in his hand.

"I want to know more about the Shadow Triads." Gary answered, causing Zoey to become unsatisfied.

"Gary, you can't possibly want to do research so late at night." Zoey tried to reason with him.

"It will give us a bigger edge against Team Plasma." Gary tried to explain.

"But is that bigger edge really worth you not taking care of yourself? I noticed you during dinner; you were too busy reading about the history of Team Plasma that you barely touched your food." Zoey tried to enlighten how Gary's habits weren't healthy. "I know you love to research, but you have to really consider taking care of yourself."

"Zoey, I'm fine." Gary was beginning to become exasperated as well. "I don't need you to tell me what to do every ten seconds."

"What?!" Zoey incredulously stammered, taken aback by Gary's statement. "I do not tell you what to do every ten seconds."

"Get some sleep Gary, you need to eat Gary, put the laptop away Gary, you need to stop obsessing over the Electric Project Gary." Gary said, mocking Zoey's voice before turning serious. "Does that sound familiar to you?"

"I'm just trying to help you!" Zoey yelled.

"Well, I don't need your help!" Gary yelled back, heading back to the tent.

"I'm trying to make sure you take care of yourself because I love you Gary!" Zoey felt her voice breaking, something that pained Gary. "But, apparently you don't love me enough to take care of yourself. I need you, but I guess you don't care." Zoey turned to her tent, going inside without saying another word to the researcher for the rest of the night. Gary thought about Zoey's words for a moment, but being as stubborn as Gary was, he entered the tent with the laptop in hand to research more about the Shadow Triads.

* * *

Dawn continued to stare out at the sky thinking of none other than her relationship with Ash. She had to wonder that ever since Ash saved her from Team Electric, he had seemed more distant towards her, as if there was something that he wasn't telling her. Dawn was confused as to why Ash let Lucius come along since she wanted nothing to do with Lucius, but Ash insisted that he had to come, although Ash wasn't thrilled about it either. Dawn noticed Ash's tent, and decided that maybe she should pay him a visit to see if she could get some information out of him. She knew Ash would never hide anything from her, so why did it feel like he was? Dawn walked over to the tent and opened it slowly, seeing that Ash wasn't asleep like the others. Dawn entered the tent slowly, noticing that Ash was staring out at her looking relieved that it was only her.

"Do you mind if I come in?" Dawn asked her boyfriend. Ash shrugged his shoulders, letting out a sly grin.

"You're already in the tent. I think it's safe to say you can come in." Ash noticed Dawn blushing as she came closer to him. Her smile diminished giving Ash a serious face.

"Are you sure that you're okay Ash?" Dawn interrogated. Ash looked over to his girlfriend nodding his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. There's no need to worry." Ash shrugged his shoulders, still staring into her eyes. Dawn wasn't content with Ash's answer, causing her to sit closer to him.

"That's when I worry the most." Dawn noticed Ash repeating her catchphrase as she softly repeated the answer he gave her all the time. Dawn once again turned serious towards Ash, wanting to know what was going on. "I mean are you sure you're all right? Did Lucius say something or do something that upset you?" Dawn probed. Ash looked down, thinking if he should tell Dawn the truth about Lucius, but once again decided against it.

"He was just bugging me about how we've been together for a long time and that what we have might not last." Ash slightly lied, just so Dawn wouldn't get suspicious.

"Ash, you can't let Lucius bother you." Dawn placed a hand through Ash's hair, giving him a small smile. "I know that we're going to last, you know why?"

"Why?" Ash wanted to know Dawn's reasoning.

"Because, I love you and I know you love me. I think that's just enough." Dawn lay down next to Ash, causing Ash to follow her lead.

"Yeah, I know that." Ash intertwined his fingers with Dawn's, staring in her eyes. "I guess I was just letting Lucius get into my brain."

"Don't worry about that loser." Dawn looked into Ash's eyes. "He's just jealous because he won't have what we have. People like that don't seem to ever be content with what they have." Dawn then recalled the first conversation she had with Lucius, wondering if she should bring it up to Ash. "He said that he knew my mother, but the crazy part was that my mother never mentioned him."

"Really?" Ash's eyes widened, causing him to sit up again.

"Yeah, I guess she didn't like him very much." Dawn tried to figure out a reason as to why her mother never talked about Lucius.

"But were they like the best of friends or something?" Ash tried to get more information from Dawn.

"Lucius said that they were, but I'm not so sure about that." Dawn sounded deflated, looking out to the entrance of the tent. "If I tried to talk about Lucius with my mom, she'd probably try to deny it." Ash then had an idea flowing in his mind. If he couldn't find the heart to tell Dawn the truth, then maybe Dawn's mother could!

"Why don't you talk to your mom about that?" Ash tried to convince her.

"You want me to talk to my mom about Lucius?" Dawn questioned.

"It couldn't hurt." Ash tried to sound nonchalant. Dawn considered it for a moment before letting out a smile.

"All right, I will as soon as we find the fire crystal." Dawn lay back down, turning to her boyfriend. "Do you mind if I sleep in here tonight? It was getting pretty lonely staring out at the stars all night."

"Sure." Ash didn't hesitate to answer. Ash lay back with Dawn wrapping his arms around her and placing a kiss on her forehead. "I just hope you know that whatever happens with Lucius and all that, I'm still going to love you and that's never going to go away." Dawn felt her face reddening at Ash's comment, seeing that he was being sincere.

"I hope that asking my mom about it will work out." Dawn whispered.

"It will, all right?" Ash assured her. Ash leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on Dawn's lips. Dawn ran her hand through Ash's hair, making the kiss more passionate. After what seemed like an eternity, Ash removed his lips from hers, pecking her lips once more before cuddling with her. "Goodnight Dawn. I love you."

"Goodnight Ash. I love you too." Dawn placed a kiss on Ash's cheek before becoming content and falling asleep with Ash by her side. Dawn's heart was filled with so much love that she almost forgot why she came into the tent in the first place—almost.

* * *

**A/N: Hmm, what does Lucius have up his sleeve? Who could be the green third triad? Will Gary and Zoey's relationship survive their latest argument? And will Dawn eventually find out that Ash knows about Lucius being her father? We'll find out...next time on _Pokémon: The Electric Project! _**


	11. Multiple Evaluations

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, Ash and his friends were able to prevent the red triad from obtaining the red crystal that was in the possession of their new friend Irene, but after some information, Paul was able to find out the key to the Electric Project, prompting our heroes to begin their journey to find the fire crystal. What will our heroes encounter while trying to find the fire crystal? Read to find out!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon and I shall never own it. **

* * *

The next morning, Irene was the first one to awake from her slumber, thinking about what Ash had said the night before. _A green triad, _Irene pondered over the fact that Cilan had green hair, a green Pansage and was wearing a green bow tie. It couldn't have been a coincidence, could it? Cilan as the missing third of the Shadow Triad? But what if it was true? What if Cilan was pretending to befriend them just so he could turn on them later? Irene was snapped out of her thoughts when Ash came out of the tent in a white t-shirt, jeans and his sneakers. Irene couldn't help but continue to stare at him, he just seemed so fascinating and the way he carried himself—he was a natural born leader even in crisis. Irene wished that she could be just like him. She aspired to be like Ash, and she had to admit that she was jealous of Dawn. Ash wasn't into Irene, Dawn was the one for him. She didn't mean to pine over the boy from Pallet Town, but he was very captivating.

"Irene?" Irene heard Ash call out to her, looking anxious. "Are you all right?"

"Huh, never better." Irene crossed her arms to think for a moment. There were many things on her plate. She wasn't sure what was bothering her about Cilan but she was determined to get to the bottom of it. "I was just thinking. You know how trainers are always thinking."

Ash chuckled at Irene's words, understanding where she was coming from. "I don't think my brain ever turns off."

"Exactly. You know exactly what I mean." Irene felt her cheeks turn red, something that Ash didn't notice. He looked out at the woods where he, Paul and Gary tried to find out who was arguing the night before only to reveal it was the Shadow Triad talking about jeopardizing their operation. He didn't get why the Shadow Triads were after the crystal, and he also wanted to know who was the third triad. Little did Ash know, Irene had a small hunch of who it could have been. Ash turned to his tent to find Dawn coming out, her beanie and her hair clips out of her hair. Irene's eyes widened seeing Dawn coming up next to Ash, her mind racing of what could have happened between them the night before.

"Morning." Dawn yawned before giving Ash a kiss. Dawn turned her attention to Irene, waving over to her.

"I thought you had your own tent." Irene pointed to Dawn, talking strictly to her.

"I didn't want to sleep on my own." Dawn shrugged her shoulders, oblivious to Irene's accusatory tone. "So I slept with Ash in his tent. He didn't seem to mind at all." Irene's face turned redder, and this time Ash noticed. He then realized that Irene was thinking of something completely different from what Dawn was suggesting.

"No, no! You don't understand!" Ash waved his hand up towards Irene. "All we did was sleep. That was it." Dawn realized that maybe she didn't use the best choice of words, quickly nodding her head in agreement.

"Yeah, we didn't do anything else!" Dawn shook her head, seeing Irene's face relax a bit.

"All right, I was just checking to make sure. Cynthia and Alder wouldn't like you two sleeping together on the job." Irene let out a chuckle, this time Ash and Dawn's face turning red. They looked to one another, trying to find something to change the subject.

"So, I noticed that you were pretty quiet last night after we mentioned the Shadow Triads." Ash felt the redness in his cheeks diminish, still staring at the bubblegum haired Pokémon trainer.

"Yeah, I was thinking of the missing green one." Irene started to explain but she didn't finish her thought. She didn't want Ash to think that she was accusing Cilan of being the third Shadow Triad, but her uncertainties were running high. If she couldn't talk to Ash about it, then maybe she could talk about it with Ash's friends—that weren't Dawn.

"Well, in the meantime we should start heading to the ferry. We're going to have to get everyone up." Ash started to make his way to Gary's tent while Dawn went over to Zoey's. Ash opened the door to the tent to find that Gary was still reading on his laptop—and he had bags under his eyes. Gary turned his head, seeing his friend standing by the entrance-way.

"Ash, hey." Gary acknowledged his friend, looking back down to the laptop.

"Gary, how long have you been up?" Ash entered the tent to see Eevee running towards him. Ash patted the top of Eevee's head, gazing at his friend.

"Been up? I haven't gone to bed yet." Gary admitted. He continued to stare at the computer in fascination.

"What do you mean you haven't been to bed yet?"

"Just that, I haven't been to bed yet." Gary answered in an annoyed tone. He quickly realized that he snapped at Ash, his face turning apologetic. "Sorry."

"You know when Zoey sees you like this; she's going to be worried." Ash tried to explain to Gary.

Gary simply shrugged off Ash's comment, still staring at the computer. "So? We got into an argument last night about it."

"You two have been arguing a lot lately." Ash noticed.

"And? Couple's argue. What's the big deal?" Ash walked over to close the computer screen. "Hey! I was reading that!" Gary shouted.

"Look at yourself!" Ash screamed. "You're obsessing over this and it's getting out of control, Gary! If Zoey telling you this wasn't enough then maybe me telling you will be. Gary, you're scaring all of us and it's getting to a point where you don't even care about anything but the Electric Project."

"Someone has to be informed about Team Plasma, Team Electric and the Electric Project!" Gary stood up crossing his arms. "It's not my fault that you're lazy all the time!" Ash turned his back to the entrance of the tent, not noticing that the arguing frightened Eevee.

"Whatever. You do what you want Gary. But when things get bad, don't say Zoey and I didn't warn you." Ash didn't look to his friend. Instead, he exited the tent, angrily pulling the "door" closed while Gary stared at the entrance. Gary huffed, pulling the screen to his laptop back up and continued to scan for the Electric Project. Eevee continued to stare at her owner, unsure what she should do. She did know one thing—Gary was no longer the caring, sensible owner that he once was. Instead, he was obsessed. Obsessed with knowledge. Knowledge that if fell into the wrong hands, it could place everyone in danger.

* * *

A while later, the gang decided to start heading towards the Unova ferry to head to the Sinnoh region, but everyone was tense for one reason or another. Each of them were in their own little world, especially Ash. A lot had happened in the last couple of hours that had him thinking about his relationship—although he should have been thinking about trying to locate the fire crystal before Team Plasma. Ash knew that he was letting Lucius get into his brain with his nonsense, but in a way, Lucius was right. Ash _was_ kind of lying to Dawn by not telling her the truth, something that would hurt the both of them if Dawn ever found out.

"Ash?" A voice knocked Ash out of his thoughts. It ended up being Cynthia, staring down at the trainer with concern. "Are you okay? You've been unusually quiet."

"Hmm?" Ash stared at the Sinnoh champion, realizing that she was asking him a question. "I just have a lot of things on my mind is all."

"Don't we all?" Cynthia nodded her head while crossing her arms. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ash looked to make sure that Dawn was busy. She was engaged in a conversation with Zoey, Irene and May, giving Ash the chance to get some advice from Cynthia. "What would you do if there was something that you didn't tell your significant other and you thought you were protecting them but the more that you didn't tell them, the more guilt ridden you felt?"

"You're talking about Dawn and her father aren't you?" Cynthia questioned. Ash was surprised that Cynthia knew about his problem, but Cynthia just let out a slight chuckle. "I wasn't born yesterday, Ash. When I saw Lucius and you talking the other night I figured that you were talking about Dawn. It's possibly the only thing you two would talk about."

"So what should I do? If I tell her then she'll be upset that I hid it from her. If I don't tell her and she finds out eventually, she'll still be mad at me because I didn't tell her. Not telling the truth is just as bad as lying." Ash turned to his girlfriend who was still in a conversation with the other females.

"I think you should tell her Ash." Cynthia honestly opinionated. "Dawn might be mad at first, but she'll understand that you were doing it to protect her."

"I just don't want this to all blow up in my face." Ash ran his hands through his hair, in deep thought.

"It won't if you tell Dawn. If you don't tell her, like you said she'll be resentful that you didn't tell her the truth in the first place. I know you're trying to protect her, but she has the right to know." Cynthia patted Ash's shoulder, giving the Pokémon trainer a lot to think about. Ash continued to stare at Dawn, still in unfathomable thought. Maybe he should have told her the truth. It would have been better for the both of them.

"Hey, Cynthia?" Irene looked over to the Sinnoh Champion.

"Yes Irene?" Cynthia questioned.

"Do you think that we could stop here for a while? It's still a long way to the ferry and we all could use a break." Irene wondered. Cynthia turned to the trainers, then back at Irene. A small break while heading to the ferry would have helped.

"All right, we could take a small break." Cynthia approved. "It would probably be a good idea if we could plan how we're going to find the first fire crystal. Gary, I understand that you were doing information on the Electric Project?" Cynthia turned her attention to the Pokémon researcher who let out a loud yawn.

"Yeah, I have." Gary drowsily answered. Zoey stared at Gary with a dissatisfied look on her face before turning away.

"Excellent." Cynthia smiled. She looked up ahead to find a small town; just perfect enough for them to stay for a bit. "Let's head into the nearest town so we can make sure the Pokémon are well rested. Daisy? Gary? Alder and I are going to need your help."

"Wait, so I have to work with Daisy?" Gary pointed towards his sister sounding more ill-tempered than usual.

"Gary, you're good with planning tactics when it comes to battling." Alder looked to the Pokémon researcher. "I had been watching you since the Indigo League. You're a very smart trainer, something that we need in this situation. You're also very stealthy and observant." Gary thought about it for a moment, finally relenting.

"Fine, I'll help you come up with a new plan." Gary sighed. Daisy placed a hand on Gary's shoulder, but Gary grumpily shrugged Daisy off, heading down the small hill that led to the nearest town.

"Since we're going to be here for a while, why don't me and you have a battle?" Zoey turned her head towards Irene, looking determined. Irene's face shone into a smile nodding her head.

"Sure, sounds great Zoey." Irene shouted in excitement. Zoey turned her head to Gary and couldn't help but feel a bit bad for him. He looked drained, but it was his choices that led him to that situation. Zoey and Irene were about to head down the hill, but Cilan stood in front of Irene and Zoey.

"I was wondering Irene, if you wouldn't mind battling me first?" Cilan questioned.

"You want me to battle you?" Irene pointed to the Pokémon Connoisseur.

"Of course." Cilan nodded his head. "I would love to see your battling style, plus it would give me a chance to evaluate your Pokémon."

"Evaluate my Pokémon?" Irene began to turn distrustful. "Why would you want to evaluate my Pokémon?"

"No reason really, just so I can see if you and your Pokémon are a premium brand, like I did for Gary and his Eevee and Ash and his Pikachu." Cilan explained.

"That sounds like fun!" Dawn looked over to Cilan. "Do you think you can observe my Pokémon too?"

"And me!" May raised her hand with eagerness.

"I would like to see how that works." Brock added on to the girls' excitement.

"All right then, I'm sure that I can evaluate all of you." Cilan looked at Irene while speaking. "But I would like to have a battle with Irene first, if you all don't mind."

"Sounds like a plan." Irene nodded her head with a smile, out of nowhere the other members of the team ended up being pushed to the side by Paul, who stared at the Pokémon Connoisseur with dagger eyes.

"If there's anyone that you should battle, it's me." Paul simply said. Cilan felt a sweat-drop slide down the side of his face at Paul's determination.

"I would like to battle Irene first, like I said." Cilan tried to explain calmly. "After I battle Irene, I will be more than happy to battle you next." Paul turned to Irene letting a snicker out.

"Well, good luck battling Irene, but I predict that she lasts only two seconds before being knocked out." Paul crossed his arms while closing his eyes with a smile.

_SLAM!_

Out of nowhere, Paul found himself losing his balance and tumbling down the hill that ended up by the entrance of the town. The others watched in shock as Paul hit one of the trees, a nest hitting the top of his head. Paul rubbed his head in pain, wanting to see who the wise guy that knocked him over was. Of course—Jigglypuff. _That stupid Jigglypuff,_ Paul gritted his teeth while staring at the Pokémon.

"Why don't we find a nice open place for our battle?" Irene turned her attention to Cilan, her suspicions continuing to arise.

"Sounds like a plan." Cilan and Irene headed towards an open ground while Misty walked over to Paul to help him up.

"Are you all right Paul?" Misty worried. Misty picked Paul up from the ground, giving him a worried look while he stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring at the Jigglypuff that was currently sticking her tongue out at the trainer.

"When I get my hands on that Jigglypuff, her fur is going to end up being a carpet." Paul grumbled. Misty chuckled and linked her arm with Paul's, giving him a soft smile.

"Forget Jigglypuff, all right? How about we go and watch Cilan's battle with Irene. You have to be somewhat curious about how he examines Pokémon." Misty suggested. Paul's frown turned into a small smile, staring down at her arm then back at her face.

"I'd like to see that smirk wiped off Irene's face." Paul admitted. Misty chuckled, leading Paul towards the battlefield.

"Yeah, so would I." Misty leaned her head on Paul's shoulder, something that made Paul's small smile turn into a wide grin.

* * *

On the battlefield, Cilan and Irene held their Pokéball's in their hands eyeing their opponent while Ash, Brock, Dawn, May, Zoey, Max, Misty and Paul stood on the sidelines. Irene eyed Cilan, curious of the Pokémon that he was about to pull out. Since Gary was busy with Cynthia and Alder, Ash had offered to be the referee along with Pikachu—something that everyone agreed to.

"All right, here are the rules. Both challengers are allowed to use one Pokémon but there are no substitutions. The first Pokémon that falls will declare a win for their opponent. Are the rules clear?" Ash turned from Irene to Cilan.

"Please, this is going to be a piece of cake." Cilan stared over at Irene.

"Let's just get this over with." Irene's smirk appeared on her face.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu shouted, pointing at Cilan and Irene.

"Begin!" Ash translated.

"Cincinno! Let's go and get them!" Irene threw the Pokéball into the air, revealing none other than Cinccino. Cinccino made a spin then bowed before Cilan, trying her best to impress everyone with her cuteness.

"Pansage, let's show them how it's done!" Cilan threw the Pokéball revealing his Pansage. Ash and Pikachu took a step back to watch the battle before them. "Pansage, let's start with bullet seed!" Pansage gathered up all of its energy and in a blink of an eye, the grass Pokémon unleashed a powerful bullet seed attack towards Irene and her Cinccino.

"Cinccino, dodge the attack!" Irene looked to her Pokémon. Cinccino quickly dodged Cilan's bullet seed attack with elegance, something that caused Dawn to let out a small smile.

"Does that Pokémon remind you of anyone familiar Dawn?" Ash turned his attention to his girlfriend.

"Togekiss." Dawn chuckled before turning back to the battle.

"Cinccino, use Thunder." Irene commanded.

"Please, thunder attacks won't work well against my Pansage." Cilan boasted.

"You didn't let me finish giving my command." Irene chuckled, turning back to Cinccino. "Use Thunder on the battle ground." Everyone on the sidelines became confused, watching Cinccino charging up electricity and pouring it onto the battlefield.

"What is she doing?" May was the only one to ask.

"It looks to me that she's using Cinccino's electricity and pouring it on the ground, making the battlefield break up to give Cinccino the advantage." Paul answered, observing Irene's battling style.

"I've seen this once before." Ash scratched his hair in confusion.

"That's because I did it in the Sinnoh League." Paul crossed his arms, looking away from his rival. Ash turned his attention to Paul, giving him a slight frown.

"So using electricity on the ground for your own advantage." Cilan stared out to Irene. "Looks like it's time to bring out the big guns. Pansage, jump in the air, and then use Solar Beam."

"Solar Beam?" Irene's suspicions went into overload. _That's the same attack that the Pansear used when he attacked us, and he used almost the same strategy that Cilan is using. I wonder…_

"Cin! Cin!" Cinccino pointed to the battlefield, wanting Irene to give her an attack.

"Counter with Giga Impact." Irene yelled. Pansage and Cinccino unleashed their respectable attacks at the same time, causing an explosion of sorts. Cinccino and Pansage flew back, landing hard on the ground from the impact. "Cinccino!"

"Pansage!" Cinccino and Pansage both tried their best to stand up to one another, in a staring contest to see who would fall first. In the end, Pansage fell down from dizziness unable to get up.

"Pansage, no!" Cilan looked over at his Pokémon who fainted from the battle.

"Pansage is unable to battle. Cinccino wins meaning the winner is Irene from Snowpoint City!" Ash pointed towards Irene. Irene let out a smile while Cinccino slowly made her way back to her partner. Irene picked Cinccino up, cradling the young Pokémon.

"You did great Cinccino, good job." Irene proudly told her Pokémon. She then turned back to Cilan, her eyebrows furrowing. "So Connoisseur boy. What do you think of me and my Pokémon?"

"Well, it's quite obvious." Cilan feebly told the young Pokémon coordinator. "Cinccino is your premium brand."

"Really? That's amazing." Irene looked down to Cinccino, still not sure about Cilan. Cilan walked over to the Pokémon coordinator with a smile, holding out her hand.

"That was a great battle. Let's do it again sometime." Cilan waited for Irene to grab his hand for a firm handshake, but she simply looked at Cinccino and walked away from the Pokémon Connoisseur. "Huh? What's her problem?"

"She probably couldn't stand the fact that she lost the battle." Paul looked over to Irene seeing that she was busy heading to the town where Cynthia, Alder, Gary and Daisy were.

"I'm sure that she just need some time to relax." Misty turned to Cilan. Gary's Eevee, which was sitting in Zoey's lap, continued to stare at Cilan with a firm face, not sure if she could trust him. There was something off about Cilan—and Eevee didn't like it.

* * *

In the small nearby town, Gary looked out the window of the Pokémon Center trying to keep his eyelids open. He stared down at the cup of coffee that was in his hand, realizing that the effects of the coffee weren't working. Daisy continued to stare at her brother and she couldn't help but feel troubled that he wasn't caring for his health. Daisy walked up to Gary to stare out the window, trying to see if she could read his mind.

"Gary, that's the 7th cup of coffee that you've drank since you got here." Daisy turned to her brother's hand, seeing that his hand was shaking from all the caffeine.

"Yeah, and the 7th cup isn't doing any wonders." Gary turned to his sister, seeing that she continued to stare at him. "Maybe I need an 8th cup." Gary started to make his way back to the cafeteria but Daisy grabbed Gary's arm and turned him around.

"Gary, you need sleep." Daisy spoke in a tone that was almost firm.

"I'm fine and I don't need sleep." Gary retorted. "What is up with everyone lately? Zoey, Ash and now you."

"Zoey and Ash care about you and frankly so do I." Daisy crossed her arms. "I'm ordering you to get some sleep while were here, and if you don't—"

"If I don't then what are you going to do? Tell grandpa that I've been doing research for countless hours on end because you decided to become nosy and almost destroy the world?" Gary took a sip of his coffee, staring down at the caffeine goodness.

"You can't seriously think that all of this is my fault." Daisy pointed to herself.

"If you weren't so nosy then Team Electric wouldn't have become interested in the first place meaning that Team Plasma wouldn't have had to try to battle Team Electric for information." Gary snapped.

"You've been angry a lot lately." Daisy pointed out.

"I HAVE NOT!" Gary shouted at the top of his lungs, causing him and his sister to get some attention. Gary turned his head to see the kids staring at him in awe, wondering if there was something wrong with him.

"Yes you have, now go to sleep or I'm telling grandpa." Daisy pointed towards the rooms that were upstairs.

"No, I have to figure this out." Gary turned towards the chairs to sit down and flip open his laptop.

"Why are you obsessing over this?! This is my research and I haven't even obsessed over this as much as you did! Let me help you, Gary." Daisy became frustrated.

"Why? So you could fix the problem and once again look like the golden child?" Gary sneered, keeping his eyes on the computer screen.

"Is this what this is about? Me looking like the golden child in front of everyone. Honestly Gary, I don't know what gave you that idea?" Daisy shook her head.

"_Daisy's so bright, let's hope that Gary can be just as good as her. Daisy won the Grand Festival while Gary only placed in the top 16 in the Silver Conference? Looks like Gary has some things to learn from Daisy! Daisy is a Pokémon breeder while Gary decided to be a researcher?! How typical for Gary to follow in his grandfather's footsteps while Daisy made something of herself doing something different! Daisy, Daisy, DAISY!" _Gary spoke in an aggravated sardonic tone towards his sister. Daisy continued to stare at Gary incredulously. "It's always been about you and it's never been about me! Everyone's always like, how can Gary learn from Daisy? It's almost like in our family…I don't even exist." Daisy began to feel guilty about her brother feeling invisible, and Zoey heard every word from the entrance of the Pokémon Center.

"Is that why you feel like you have to work on the Electric Project until you find an answer? Why do you feel that way?" Daisy questioned.

"Because for once I want people to tell me that they're proud of me." Gary turned around towards his sister while spotting Zoey standing at the entrance with Eevee. "Not one person had told me that they were proud of the work I've done, or even made me feel special when I accomplished something. So I didn't win the Silver Conference. So what? I at least made it there. So I wanted to be a Pokémon researcher. So what? I find being a researcher interesting because I always liked the history of Pokémon. And I am just as bright as _you_, so I don't need anyone in our family telling me that I'm useless because the things that I do don't matter compared to the things that you do. You're pretty, you're successful, you could have everything you've ever wanted. You're a breeder, a doctor and a coordinator and on top of that you wanted to be a researcher too? Now everyone's going to go to you because you're Daisy Oak and I'm just your little brother who's trying to make something of himself—but I can't make something of myself because every time I try, you always get in the way. Yeah, it feels real good to be your brother, especially when I'm always hiding in your spotlight." Gary closed the laptop and headed up the stairs to where the Pokémon Center rooms were, slamming the door behind him. Zoey and Daisy exchanged a glance at one another before Daisy sat down, opening the computer to see the research her brother conjured up.

"I didn't mean to make Gary feel like he wasn't important." Daisy looked down at the information, turning back to Zoey. "Do you think you can talk to him?"

"Gary and I got into an argument about him doing so much research last night. If I had known that he was going it in order to make everyone proud, then I would have understood." Zoey looked up at the stairs, thinking that maybe she should talk to Gary. "I'll be right back." Zoey trudged up the stairs and found Gary's room, mostly because Eevee recognized Gary's scent. Zoey knocked on the door to Gary's room, opening the door slowly. Gary looked out the window from the balcony still as tired as ever but refusing to go to sleep. "Gary?" Gary turned around to find Zoey standing behind him, feeling more and more worried.

"What do you want?" Gary slightly mumbled, turning back to the window. Zoey walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you're upset and cranky and moody all because you want to find out about the Electric Project before Daisy." Zoey stared into Gary's auburn, exhausted eyes. "But if you want people to recognize you, this isn't the way to do it." Gary continued to gaze into Zoey's eyes, uncertain where this conversation was headed. "Gary, you are the most thoughtful person I've ever known. You're so smart and talented and you're a sweetheart once people get to know you. Just because your family has trouble seeing that you're just as talented as Daisy, doesn't mean that your friends haven't noticed. They love you for who you are. _I _love you for who you are." Gary continued to stare at Zoey, but when he moved, he felt the wall to the room pressed against his back.

"You really think that I'm good enough? Not even my parents can see that. The only one that really sees that is my grandpa." Gary looked down. Zoey used her hand to move Gary's face to stare at her.

"Gary, you really don't know how good you are." Zoey shook her head with a smile on her face. "You do things that amaze me all the time. Your knowledge on Pokémon, the way you're able to think quickly in times of haste. You are amazing Gary Oak, and don't you ever forget that. I'm really sorry for getting into that argument with you last night. If I had known that this was all because you were trying to prove yourself, I never would have yelled at you."

"No, I'm sorry." Gary shook his head, placing a hand on Zoey's cheek. "The more I thought about it, the more I realized that you were right. I do need to relax a bit and I do need to take a break every once in a while. I guess I was so interested in trying to find some way for someone to notice me other than Daisy, hat I completely forgot that I was ignoring you and your good judgment."

"You don't have to be sorry." Zoey whispered to the Pokémon researcher. "But it's sometimes good to hear you figure out your mistakes." Gary placed his forehead on Zoey's, giving her a small smile. "Now, you have to promise me that you're going to get some sleep, okay? Because we can't do this without you, and you need to be fresh for the fight."

"You know, it also would help if I had something to eat. I've barely eaten in three days." Gary blushed. Zoey chuckled, shaking her head at her boyfriend.

"I think that would be a good idea too." Zoey placed a reassuring, loving kiss on Gary's cheek before moving back to get some food for him. "Just so you know Gary, I'm always proud of the work you do." As Zoey left the room, Gary placed his hand on his cheek where Zoey had kissed him moments before, thinking her words through. He didn't have to keep proving himself to his family that he was just as good as Daisy. Zoey thought that he was just as good along with every single one of his friends. Hearing those words made Gary feel an emotion that he hadn't felt in a long time—special.

* * *

"So, was it fun battling Cilan?" Dawn questioned as she, May, Misty and Irene made their way to the Pokémon Center. Cilan, Ash, Brock, Max and Paul offered to stay behind so that Paul could have his battle with Cilan, which meant that it was girl time for the young ladies.

"It was alright I guess." Irene shrugged her shoulders still seemingly out of it.

"Irene, is something wrong?" May asked. Irene looked over to the girls still thinking about her suspicions on Cilan.

"If I told you about Cilan then you wouldn't understand." Irene looked away. The other girls sans Misty decided to 'ooh' at the same time, something that confused the young girl.

"Do I sense that someone has a crush on Cilan?" Dawn gave a mischievous grin.

"What?" Irene looked towards Dawn skeptically.

"You have a crush on Cilan." May reiterated Dawn's words. "That's why you keep thinking about him."

"I do _not_ have a crush on Cilan." Irene defended herself.

"If you don't have a crush on Cilan, then why do you keep thinking about him?" Dawn interrogated. Irene looked to Misty, May and Dawn who were busy staring at her, unsure how to answer their question.

"Dawn!"

"May!"

"Carrot Top!"

Misty, Dawn and May turned their heads to find the boys walking towards them. Misty let out a slight grin at Paul's nickname for her while Dawn and May became interested about how Cilan and Paul's Pokémon battle went.

"How was the battle?" Misty asked Paul.

"I won." Paul shrugged his shoulders, turning over to Cilan. "Cilan did try to show off with his Pansage again."

"Yes, and Pansage now has to go to the Pokémon Center so I can treat it." Cilan answered, making Irene uneasy. "Oh, Irene before I forget do you mind if I take a picture with you and your Pokémon Cinccino?"

"Why do you want to see Cinccino?" Irene questioned.

"Because I like to take pictures of all the people that I battle when I evaluate them, and I was wondering if I could do the same for you." Ash, Paul, Max and Brock nodded their heads towards Irene, encouraging her to do it. Irene looked up at Cinccino who was perched on the top of her head, wondering what she should do next.

"What do you think Cinccino? Do you want to take a picture?" Irene didn't have to ask twice as Cinccino climbed off Irene's shoulders and started to dust herself off. Ash and Pikachu gave each other a quizzical look before turning back at Cinccino. "All right, I guess." Irene grabbed Cinccino, flashing a smile as Cilan took a picture of the Pokémon and trainer.

"Thanks a lot Irene. Oh boy, I can't wait to develop this." Cilan walked off with a smile.

"Did he always like taking pictures?" Dawn turned to Ash, interested in her boyfriend's Unova friend.

"That's the first I've seen of it." Ash wondered what prompted Cilan to take a picture of Irene and her Cinccino so suddenly. "I knew Trip liked to take pictures, but not Cilan."

"Speaking of Trip, I wonder what Team Electric is up to now that Lucius isn't leading them anymore." May pondered.

"I wouldn't worry about Trip." Ash told his friends. "It's Team Plasma that we have to worry about now. With Lucius here, there's no reason in worrying about Team Electric."

"Speaking of which, where is Lucius?" Misty pointed out. Ash turned around suddenly concerned about where the man had gone. The last thing he needed was to lose sight of a man that had the power of convincing Pokémon to do whatever he wanted.

"No need to worry teens, I'm right here." The group of teenagers all turned around to find Lucius walking toward them. "I couldn't help but notice your battle with Cilan, Irene. I'm actually surprised a weakling Pokémon like yours was able to defeat a Pansage that looked like it had special training for years."

"What do you mean special training?" Irene wanted to know.

"That Pansage was rather powerful, at least its Solar Beam attack. It's normal for a Pansage to have a Solar Beam attack, but a Pansear like the one you saw at the Pokémon Center miles back? That's highly unusual." Lucius pointed out. Irene looked to Dawn before turning back to the man.

"So what does that have to do with anything?" Dawn snapped at the man.

"I'd watch it if I were you, so mind your manners." Lucius gave Ash a knowing glare causing Ash and Pikachu to grit their teeth in anger.

"Let's go. This creep doesn't know what he's talking about." Paul began to walk away from Lucius.

"Oh, let's just say that it feels like I've seen Cilan before." Lucius called out to the Pokémon trainer. Paul turned around, stunned by his words until Ash decided it was time to break up the conversation.

"Let's go to the Pokémon Center. Cynthia and Alder are waiting." Ash began to lead his friends as far as he possibly could, but when Ash turned around he noticed Lucius observing Dawn intently, which was something that began to make Ash feel extremely uncomfortable.

* * *

Up in the forest, the red and blue shadow triad made their way to a cottage that was near the small town, getting a message that the man that had sent them on the journey wanted to see them—for what, they had no idea. The red and blue triad entered the cottage, spotting the man in the large black overcoat that had summoned them. Together they made their way towards the man, who simply turned around and gave the young triads chills down their spines.

"I believe you have the picture that our friend had sent us of the girl who possesses the bracelet that we need?" The man wondered.

"Of course we do." The red triad handed the photo over to the man, hoping that the man would be all aboard of trying to get the bracelet to take over Team Plasma. Instead when the man looked at the photo, his eyes widened, his face paralyzed in fear.

"Is something wrong sir?" the blue triad questioned, turning over to the man. The man quickly shook the fear off his face, but continued to stare at the picture.

"This girl, I've seen her before." The man pointed to the photo, turning back to the triads.

"Really?" The red triad sounded surprised.

"Where have you seen the young girl before?" the blue triad pressed, wanting to know what information the man knew. The man stared at the photo in disbelief, trying to spit the words out to his fellow comrades.

"This young lady that you see in the photo." The man turned to the duo, looking at the picture once again. "This young lady is my daughter."

* * *

**A/N: Will Ash listen to Cynthia's advice and tell Dawn the truth? Will Daisy and Gary ever bury the hatchet and get along? Why did Cilan take a picture of Irene and her Cinccino. And who is the man that the Shadow Triads report to that claims a young lady is his daughter? We'll find out next time on _Pokémon: The Electric Project!_**


	12. Hidden Secrets Revealed

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, Irene's suspicions were continuously growing over the missing triad-and she thought that it could have been Cilan! While our heroes are searching for the red fire crystal, what secrets will be revealed? And what secrets will stay a secret? Read on to find out!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon but it could happen if I had a billion dollars or so. **

* * *

In the Pokémon Center, Dawn sat in one of the chairs looking over at Lucius, still baffled by how much that he looked like her. She was wary about the fact that Lucius looked like her, but there was something about him that gave her the creeps. Dawn was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Dawn looked up to see Ash smiling down at her before leaning down and looking her in the eyes.

"What are you doing?" Ash asked in an almost playful singsong voice.

"I was just thinking." Dawn put a hand through Ash's hair, a smile appearing on her face. She didn't want to tell Ash that she was thinking about Lucius.

"What about?" Ash placed a hand on her cheek, giving her a warm smile.

"Nothing really, it was just a lot of things on my mind." Dawn shrugged her shoulders, turning back to Lucius. "Does Lucius really have to be here? He gives me the creeps."

"I'm sure that once you get to know Lucius he's…not that…" Ash stopped himself from trying to lie to his girlfriend. "Who am I kidding, Lucius is a horrible man." Dawn giggled at her boyfriend, playfully hitting him in the chest.

"You're right about that." Dawn's face then turned serious, looking over at Ash in confusion. "So, is there anything else on the Electric Project and when we'll get the first crystal?"

"We're very hasty to get to the first crystal I see." Ash joked around before turning serious. "I don't know. Cynthia and Alder want to think of a plan before we go and find the crystal. That's why Daisy and Gary were helping her. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Gary all afternoon. I wonder where he is?"

"That's an easy question." Zoey walked over to Ash and Dawn, hearing their question about her boyfriend. "Gary's asleep. I finally was able to get him to calm down and relax."

"That's great Zoey." Dawn sounded relieved.

"Yeah, Gary was a little too out of it for my liking." Ash shook his head.

"He was just trying to impress everyone, that's all. Typical Gary." Zoey shook her head looking over at the couple. "So are you two really okay with letting Lucius come along with us, knowing that you both hate his guts?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Ash quickly jumped in causing Dawn and Zoey to become jumbled by Ash's actions.

"It's fine?" Dawn sounded almost upset and insulted. "Ash, he kidnapped me for no reason. I still don't know what he wanted from me."

"Well, he won't hurt you know because I'm here." Ash assured his girlfriend. Dawn looked into Ash's eyes, seeing that he was serious about protecting her. "If he lays one hand on you then he's going to have to deal with me." Dawn felt relaxed by her boyfriend's presence, giving him a reassuring squeeze on his arm.

"I know you'll protect me." Dawn gazed lovingly at Ash. Irene entered the Pokémon Center, eyeing Zoey, Ash and Dawn in a conversation. If she was going to explain her suspicions, then Ash and Dawn couldn't be in the room to hear it. Ash couldn't know because she didn't want him to think that she was ganging up on Cilan. And Dawn couldn't know because she would just run to Ash and tell him. Irene knew what she had to do.

"Zoey? Do you mind if I speak to you for a moment?" Zoey turned her head towards her friend, letting out a small smile.

"Sure. Is everything all right?" Zoey followed Irene, leaving Ash and Dawn in a disordered state.

* * *

Irene gathered everyone minus Ash, Dawn, Gary and Cilan in one room, about to explain her reservations. Everyone wondered what was so important that they had to be dragged into one room, but noticing the look on Irene's face meant that there was a legit intention. Irene let out a deep breath, not sure, how the others would react.

"What was so important that you had to gather us in one room? And where's Ash, Dawn, Gary and Cilan?" May looked around noticing that their friends were AWOL.

"Dawn, Cilan and Ash aren't here because this sort of has to do with them." Irene acknowledged.

"And Gary's not here because he's getting some sleep, something that he deserves after being up reading about the Electric Project nonstop." Zoey added.

"So what was so important that you had to drag us in here?" Paul sounded a bit impatient.

"Well, I've been getting this feeling about Cilan." Irene started to elucidate. "There's something about him that feels wrong."

"Like what?" Brock became fretful.

"Well, I think that the missing Shadow Triad…" Irene looked down then back at the teenagers. "Might be Cilan."

"Wait, so you're saying that we're traveling with a Shadow Triad?" Paul sneered, turning away from Irene. "I think that's highly unlikely."

"Irene, that's a serious accusation. Are you sure about this?" Cynthia looked at the young trainer.

"I've just been getting this off feeling about Cilan." Irene observed the others with hope that they would understand. "I mean, the other night Ash said himself that they were missing a green triad. Is it a coincidence that Cilan is wearing green and has a green Pansage?"

"So we're making accusations based off of the color that Cilan wears?" Misty rolled her eyes over at the trainer. "You just don't like him traveling with us, so you're making up lies."

"I'm not making up anything!" Irene retorted towards the Cerulean gym leader. "I really feel like there's something not right about Cilan."

"All right, all right." Cynthia ceased the arguing.

"Eevee, Eevee." Everyone looked to the ground to find Eevee sitting there, vouching for Irene.

"Eevee said that she felt something wasn't right with Cilan from the moment that she met him." Zoey translated for the other trainers. They continued to look over at Eevee, seeing the young Pokémon nodding her head vigorously.

"If Eevee felt it and Irene felt it then maybe there is something wrong with Cilan after all." Max concluded from the information.

"Oh come on now!" Paul began to sound agitated. "So we're going to take the word of a girl that we've known for about three days along with a Pokémon that basically goes along with everything everyone says?"

"_You_ may have known Irene for three days." Zoey walked over to her friend, placing an arm around Irene's shoulder. "But I've known Irene my whole life, and she would never make something up just for attention."

"Do you think that we should tell Ash about this? I mean Cilan is his friend after all." Brock looked over to Irene.

"If we tell Ash then he'll become upset that we doubt his comrade." Irene answered. "I think it's best for now that if we kept it a secret from him."

"All right, I guess we have to just keep an eye on Cilan, just to make sure that he's not doing anything out of the ordinary." Brock concluded, eyeing Zoey. "Zoey, you have to find some way to fill Gary in on this without Ash, Dawn or Cilan hearing."

"I think I can do that." Zoey then felt uncomfortable. "But I don't know if hiding all this from Ash and Dawn is a good idea."

"In the meantime, I agree. Until we're sure about Cilan, we hide this from Ash." Alder spoke up, the teenagers turning over to the Unova Champion, nodding their heads. Paul on the other hand, had other plans. As much as Ash was his rival, if Cilan ended up backstabbing him and _was_ the Shadow Triad, he couldn't bear to see Ash hurt from the fact that everyone was planning on keeping their assumptions to themselves. He was going to find some time to tell Ash the truth about it, but he was going to have to do it when there weren't a lot of people around.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Irene spotted Ash and Pikachu reading a paper that was taped to the front of the Pokémon Center. She felt pangs of guilt in the pit of her stomach, but she couldn't tell Ash her assumptions. It would have bothered him too much. She was also sure that she felt butterflies in her stomach every time she spotted Ash. _I don't like Ash, I can't anyway. He's with Dawn and that's that_. Irene walked up to the trainer, interested in the article that he was reading.

"Hey, Ash." Irene waved towards the trainer. Ash turned around giving Irene a soft smile, then turning back to the piece of paper.

"Hey Irene. What's up?" Ash didn't look at the trainer. After the accusation that Irene made earlier that morning, Ash felt his cheeks blush of embarrassment every time he spoke or looked at Irene.

"Where's Dawn? I thought she would have been with you?" Irene questioned.

"She's around here somewhere." Ash answered, deciding that there was no reason to be outside. "I was actually about to find her."

"Is that something about the ferry?" Irene pointed to the paper that Ash was looking at moments before.

"Yeah, they were talking about the ferry schedule. The next ferry to the Sinnoh region doesn't leave until tomorrow night, so we're stuck in Unova for another day." Ash enlightened. Pikachu nodded his head along with his trainer as they both started to head towards the entrance of the Pokémon Center. Before Ash could open the door, the door opened with Gary on the other side. "Gary, I haven't seen you all day. Where have you been?"

"Sleeping." Gary let out a smile, relieved that Ash wasn't mad about their argument. "Zoey thought it was a good idea to get some sleep so I took her advice. I haven't felt this refreshed in years."

"Glad to see that you're doing better." Ash reciprocated the smile towards his longtime friend. "Where were you heading to now?"

"I was actually about to go and grab a bite to eat while looking over these files that Cynthia and Alder gave me about the location of the fire crystal." Gary explained. After seeing Ash's face expression become worry some, Gary let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "Ah, don't worry about me Ashy Boy. I'll read them while I eat. They all thought I could still look for information if I promised to take care of myself."

"That's great, Gary." Ash sounded relieved. "Do you need some company?"

"That would be awesome. I was just going to meet Zoey, but if you can find Dawn then we can double date." Gary offered.

"If I could find where Dawn went to, then that would sound like a plan." Ash began to worry about his girlfriend. Where could Dawn have been? Ash and Gary didn't have to worry about Dawn going missing for long as she came out of the Pokémon Center with Piplup on her shoulder.

"Ash, I was looking for you." Dawn pointed towards him. Ash raised his eyebrow, a small grin appearing on his face.

"You were looking for me?" Ash placed an arm around her shoulder. "That's funny because I was looking for you. Gary and Zoey were going to get some lunch and Gary asked if we could come along."

"Sounds great. I'm starved." Dawn nodded her head towards Ash and to the Pokémon researcher.

"Do you guys mind if I follow you into town? I wanted to look at all the stores." Irene wondered. Gary and Ash let out warm, friendly smiles, nodding their heads in agreement.

"Sure, no problem." Gary approved. With that, the four friends headed towards town where they planned to meet Zoey. As they walked to the middle of town, they couldn't help but turn their heads in interest after seeing a Pokémon release a powerful Hydro Pump in the air. Ash, Dawn and Gary stared in awe—but Irene became nervous, knowing the trainer behind the powerful Pokémon.

"That was great Panpour." The trainer patted his Pokémon's head.

"C…Cress?!" Irene blurted out. The trainer turned his attention to Irene, seeing that she was standing before him. His face flashed into a grin, walking over to the young trainer with astonishment.

"Irene, what a surprise!" Cress shook Irene's hand, a blush creeping on his face. Dawn and Gary looked in misperception to Irene and Cress, unsure who the blue haired trainer was.

"Cress, is that you?" Ash sounded enthusiastic. Cress turned to Ash, the same smile on his face from moments before.

"Ash, it's great to see you." Cress shook Ash's hand, still staring at Pikachu who was on Ash's shoulder. "I see you still have Pikachu. Pikachu is such an amazing Pokémon."

"Yep, he sure is." Ash nodded his head.

"Pika, Pika." Pikachu smiled.

"Ash? Who is this? And why is he acting that Pikachu is the only one in this region?" Gary wanted some answers. Ash turned around pointing to the blue haired gym leader.

"Dawn, Gary. This is Cress. He's Cilan's brother." Ash introduced his friends to Cress. "Cress, this is my friend Gary and my girlfriend Dawn."

"It's nice to meet you." Dawn politely said.

"Nice to meet the both of you as well." Cress politely answered before turning his attention to Gary. "The reason that I am acting like Pikachu is so unique in this region is because he is."

"Pikachu is rare in Unova which is why everyone seems to become interested in him in every town we go through here." Ash explained.

"Pikachu isn't even in the Pokédex in Unova." Cress added on. "That's what makes it so fascinating."

"So Pikachu is ultra-rare here? Who would have thought?" Gary became surprised.

"So how do you and Irene know each other?" Dawn pointed to both the gym leader and the coordinator.

"We've met before when Irene came to Unova with her parents for the Pokémon World Cup." Cilan explained.

"We spent two weeks here and I had to admit that it was the best two weeks of my life." Irene added on.

"We were just about to head to get something to eat." Gary politely pointed towards the town. "Would you like to join us Cress? You could be Irene's date." Irene and Cress blushed madly at one another, and then back at Gary.

"Cress as my date?" Irene's eyes widened, her face still reddened.

"Or, Cress could just come along so we can get to know him better." Ash nudged Gary on his arm, trying not to make thing awkward between Cress and Irene.

"That sounds lovely. Panpour and I were training and we could use a break." Cress graciously added.

"Let's go!" Dawn pulled Ash along with her with Gary following closely behind.

"So, how has your dad been?" Cress stuffed his hands in his pockets staring at Irene.

"Oh, you know the life of a scientist. He's always working." Irene let out a smile, walking alongside Cress. _If only she knew…_

* * *

At the nearby café, Irene and Cress continued to speak about their experiences with meeting one another while Gary flipped through the papers that Alder and Cynthia handed him. As he continued to read, he noticed there was something peculiar with the information. That was when Gary's mind started to race.

"Gary?" A voice shook Gary out of his thoughts. He looked in the seat next to him to see Zoey crossing her arms, an eyebrow raised. "Do you really have to read at the table?" Gary blushed slightly, closing the piece of paper and focusing on Zoey.

"Sorry, it's just my mind was racing through a lot of things." Gary turned his attention to Irene and Cress, becoming more absorbed in the gym leader. "So Cress, your brother is Cilan?"

"Along with my other brother Chili." Cress explained, grabbing a French fry from his plate.

"Cress specializes in water Pokémon, Chili specializes in fire Pokémon and Cilan specializes in grass Pokémon." Ash gave his friend some further insight, causing Gary to tap the pencil that was in his hand on the desk.

"That's actually captivating." Gary awed. "I had a dream when I was a little kid to be a gym leader, but I was more drawn on being a trainer and then a researcher as I grew up."

"I didn't know that about you." Zoey turned to Gary with a smile.

"Yeah, there are a lot of things you don't know about me." Gary gave Zoey a cocky grin while leaning back in his chair.

"Like what?" Zoey raised an eyebrow, her concern becoming apparent. Gary's smile wiped off his face, not sure if he wanted to share the ten million other secrets he had about himself.

"Nothing, just nothing." Gary took a bite of his sandwich to end the conversation.

"Well, it would be great if you could help us." Irene looked to Cress. "We need you to help us find the ferry. It's taking a long time to get there."

"Are you going there now?" Cress questioned.

"No, we're going tomorrow." Dawn spoke up, looking over to the blue haired gym leader. "We were just wondering if there was a quick way to get to the ferry since we have to be in Sinnoh soon."

"There is. If you just go straight ahead, you'll reach the ferry terminal in a couple of hours or so." Cress instructed.

"That sounds fantastic." Irene looked over to Cress.

"So have any of you heard from my brother Cilan?" Cress wondered. "I haven't heard from him in a while."

"Well, he's traveling with us." Ash explained to his friend.

"He's helping us take care of the Electric Project." Dawn added. Hearing the mention of Cilan at the table made Zoey and Irene cringe, something that was noticed by Gary.

"Zoey, are you okay?" Gary questioned. Zoey realized that she didn't get a chance to tell Gary Irene's assumption on Cilan, which prompted her to stand up and grab his hand.

"Come on Gary, why don't we go and get the others dessert?" Zoey started to pull Gary away, trying her best not to gain suspicion. Gary and Zoey turned the corner of the building, Gary panting from being out of breath of the pace Zoey was dragging him.

"Do you want to explain to me what's going on here?" Gary almost shouted. Zoey put her hand to Gary's mouth, silencing him for a moment.

"Can I get a chance to explain please?" Zoey slowly removed her hand from Gary's mouth, seeing the Pokémon researcher blankly staring at her. "All right, here's the deal. You know the missing Shadow Triad?"

"Yeah?" Gary wasn't sure where this was going.

"Irene thinks that it's Cilan." Zoey revealed to her boyfriend. Gary continued to stare blankly at Zoey finally showing some emotion.

"Wait, she thinks that it's _Cilan_?! As the Shadow Triad?!" Gary once again started to shout. Zoey placed her hand to Gary's mouth once again, staring into his eyes.

"Can you please stop doing that Gary?" Zoey begged. Gary quickly nodded his head, resulting Zoey to move her hand. "Thank you."

"So, how sure are you?" Gary questioned.

"We're not entirely sure yet, but we're going to keep an eye on him. You never know with people." Zoey's face was full of uncertainty, something that worried Gary.

"Does Ash know?" Gary finally asked after taking a moment to sink everything in.

"No, and Ash isn't going to know." Zoey's tone became stern. "I know Ash is your best friend and all, but you have to keep this from him."

"Why?" Gary was still muddled.

"Because Gary, Ash will just think that we're ganging up on Cilan and that we don't really like him." Zoey's explanation seemed to be enough for Gary to understand—but he didn't like keeping secrets from Ash, no matter how small they were. "Just until we get proof that Cilan is the third triad, do you think that you can keep this secret?" Gary took a moment to think it over, and then let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine, I won't tell Ash. But if he finds out that we've been hiding this from him then he won't take too kindly to that." Gary was about to say more, but Ash turned the corner with Pikachu on his shoulder, unsure why the couple took off as they did.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ash questioned. Gary turned to Zoey who quickly turned her head to the young teenage boy.

"Nothing Ashy Boy." Gary quickly said, trying to look less and less suspicious.

"Really Gary, again with the nickname?" Ash's smile appeared, trying to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Oh come on, like the nickname bothers you." Gary scoffed, walking over to his friend and punching him in the shoulder playfully.

"So are you really going to tell me what you and Zoey are doing behind this building? I thought you were getting dessert." Zoey looked to Gary at Ash's question, hoping that he would be able to think of something quickly.

"Right, we were getting some dessert, but we had to talk first." Gary turned to his friend, his face turning slightly red.

"Don't want to know what you were talking about, but please hurry." Ash begged, looking over to Zoey. "Irene and Cress won't stop talking."

"So she's a motor mouth." Zoey chuckled towards the Pokémon trainer.

"You better believe it." Ash sighed, turning around to head back to the table. Gary walked over to Zoey, intending on going past them.

"Maybe we should get that dessert for everyone. I don't want Ash or Dawn's ears to blow up." Gary chuckled. Zoey wrapped her arms around Gary's neck, placing her forehead on his.

"I'm sure that they won't mind waiting for a moment." Zoey slyly said before pressing her lips to Gary's. Gary's eyes closed, a smile creeping on his face as his heart started pounding. Even when there was evil in the world, Zoey was the only one that was able to calm his nerves and in that moment, Gary almost forgot that his nerves were getting the best of him.

* * *

As soon as the three couples reached the Pokémon Center, Cress turned his face towards Irene, a smile creeping.

"Thank you for the wonderful lunch Irene and thank you for inviting me Ash and Gary." Cress turned his attention to the boys before fixating his eyes on the teenage coordinator.

"Wait, so you aren't going to see Cilan?" Ash became confused.

"I'm sure that whatever he's doing, it's more important. Besides, I don't want to distract him." Cress explained before waving off to the other trainers. While Ash and Gary waved goodbye to Cress, Zoey and Dawn couldn't help but notice that Irene looked a bit disappointed with the fact that just as quickly as Cress had returned, he had left again. She didn't know why she cared. She wasn't in love with Cress, she was sure of that much but Cress and his actions reminded Irene of another reason that she was depressed—she missed someone else that was deep to her heart.

* * *

That night Irene stood on the balcony of the Pokémon Center while she was sure everyone else went to bed. She needed to be alone with her thoughts for now. She wasn't counting on the fact that Dawn and Zoey were approaching the balcony in an attempt to confront Irene about what was wrong. They noticed what went on with Cress, and they wanted to console Irene.

"I thought that we would find you out there." Zoey smiled at her friend, causing Irene to turn around.

"What are you guys doing here?" Irene stammered for a moment.

"We noticed that you were upset that Cress left and we wanted to make sure that you were okay." Dawn answered, walking to one side of the Pokémon coordinator.

"So are you? You looked like you were going to cry when Cress left." Zoey added.

"I'm fine, but I'm not upset about Cress." Irene answered, looking down to her slippers.

"You're not?" Dawn raised an eyebrow.

"But you seemed so sad when Cress left." Zoey didn't quite understand the predicament that Irene was in.

"Well, I did know about Cress before. He's my friend but…when Cress left it reminded me of everyone else that had left me in my life." Irene looked out to the sky, Dawn and Zoey interested in the young coordinators story.

"Well, do you want to talk about it?" Dawn sat down by the nearby bench on the balcony giving Irene a small smile.

"Well, I was thinking a lot about my dad." Irene admitted.

"You mean the scientist?" Zoey's eyes widened with interest.

Dawn's face expression matched Zoey, looking interested in Irene's story. "Your dad's a scientist?"

"Yeah. He travels all over the regions and tries to find how to bring out the strength of a Pokémon." Irene joined Dawn and Zoey on the bench. "He left about a year ago to work on a secret project but he never kept in contact. I remember when I last saw him before he left on his journey; he gave me a Pokémon that meant the world to him. He gave me his Swablu, the one he caught in Hoenn. He would always try to bring me something on his journeys but that was the last thing that I had to remember him by."

"Do you still have the Swablu?" Dawn asked. Irene took out a Pokéball, throwing it into the air with a smile.

"This is Altaria." Irene noticed Altaria coming towards her, allowing her to pet the bird Pokémon on her head. "She evolved as I was traveling through Johto."

"She's so beautiful." Dawn pet Altaria's head, staring at Irene. Zoey and Dawn noticed Irene's face turning solemn. "Is something wrong?"

"I was just wondering, how do you know that you're really in love?" Irene felt her cheeks redden, turning away from the two other girls.

"Why would you want to know that?" Zoey walked over to her friend, wrapping her arm around her shoulder.

"Well, when I was in Johto I met this boy named Curtis. We got along so well that it was unbelievable. He watched me compete in Pokémon contests and I watched him compete in gym battles. We were inseparable until one day, he decided he wanted to go to Kanto and I wanted to go to Sinnoh. We were sort of a thing when we decided on what we wanted to do with our lives, but we still talk and stuff. It's just so hard being apart from someone that makes you smile, that makes you laugh, that makes you want to be a bigger and better person. But how do I know that I'm really in love?" Dawn let out a slight chuckle, looking out at the sky. She knew very well what Irene was talking about.

"Your situation sounds like another one that I know about very well." Dawn explained. "Ash and I had the same problem when we were in Sinnoh. When it was time for us to do different things, it was hard but we made it work. I knew it was love because every time I see a picture of him or when I visit him, I get the same feeling that I get the day I first met him. I feel flustered, unsure of what I'm going to say. But I know its love because I don't think I can picture a moment where Ash isn't by my side. If you and Curtis feel that way, then you'll know that it's love, I promise you." Irene thought through Dawn's words for a moment, wondering if she should say anything else.

"Is that how you feel about Gary, Zoey?" Irene turned to Zoey wanting to hear Zoey's version of love.

"Yep, as a matter of fact I do." Zoey agreed with Dawn's words. "But there's something else. When you're with someone you love, they make you change for the better. Before I met Gary, I was a bit insecure about whether I wanted to be a coordinator or whether I was good enough to make it. With Gary's help, I was able to get over my insecurities and become a better version of myself. He challenges me, something that I appreciate. I sometimes challenge Gary to become a better researcher, something that helps him want to be one of the best researchers besides his grandfather."

"You could say that." A voice spoke from behind the girls, prompting them to turn their heads to find Gary and Ash standing behind them with a smile.

"This is girl talk! What are you doing?" Dawn secretly was glad that Ash was standing there, but tried to deter him by making him think he was invading her personal space.

"Girl talk? Hmm, sounds like a conversation." Ash quipped, walking over to the girls.

"We could hear your conversation from the next room and we're trying to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow." Gary's tone sounded annoyed, but his expression said otherwise since he had a smile on his face.

"All right, all right. We're going to go to bed." Dawn put her hand up, giggling at the boys.

"Good." Ash let out a yawn.

"Thank you Dawn and Zoey. You really helped me in trying to figure out what love really meant. I just hoped that I could talk to Curtis before we head to Sinnoh." Irene started to head back into the room.

"Why don't you call Curtis?" Dawn suggested. "It might make you feel better."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Zoey turned to Dawn while nodding her head.

"All right, I shall." Irene walked out of the room to head downstairs to speak with Curtis. It had been forever since she had done so. Ash and Gary walked over to the girls, joining them on the bench while looking out at the stars.

"Do you think we'll be able to find the gems before Team Plasma does?" Gary sounded a bit unsure of himself.

"We will find them, with your great research." Zoey looked over to him with a reassuring grin.

"I'm just worried that Team Plasma might find the crystal before us." Gary felt Zoey's hand land on his shoulder, seeing her comforting grin.

"We're going to find the gems before Team Plasma does, and do you know why?" Zoey's tone was loving and supportive.

"Because we have a researcher on our side that has the brains to figure this entire thing out." Dawn answered, showing a face of determination.

"Well, I'm just sure that Daisy's just going to take my thunder again, like she always does." Gary sounded almost disappointed, until Zoey shook him out of his funk.

"Gary, this here is your moment. You have to grab it. This moment doesn't belong to anyone else. Not to Team Plasma, not to your grandfather and most definitely not to Daisy. This belongs to you. So when it's your time to shine, you have to own it and not let anybody take it away from you." Gary continued to stare at Zoey, pondering her words for a bit.

"You're right; I just have to think positive." Gary looked over to his friends who all let out supportive grins. If Gary was going to do this, then he was going to have his friends by his side.

"I think it's late, why don't we go and get some sleep." Ash finally spoke up after a moment of silence. Ash got up from the bench, Dawn following right after him.

"Why don't I walk you to your room?" Dawn offered. Ash looked over to her, quickly nodding his head.

"Sure, that sounds great." Ash placed an arm around Dawn's shoulder as they headed out the door, leaving Gary and Zoey to look up at the sky.

"So, do you want to go to sleep yet?" Gary looked over to Zoey, noticing that she was cuddling closer to him.

"No, I don't think I want to go to sleep _just_ yet." Zoey stared into Gary's eyes, content with the fact that she was with him at the moment, and the two continued to stare at the sky without saying another word for the rest of the night. Little did Gary and Zoey know, someone was watching them from the distance, and in the man's hand, he had a photo with a girl in the picture—the girl looking just like Irene.

* * *

Paul had continued to stare at one of the rooms, hoping that he was going to be able to make his move eventually. Ever since Irene had told them earlier in the day that there was something suspicious about Cilan, he had to think that maybe by the slightest chance she was telling the truth. He wasn't going to let Irene know that he was thinking that what she said was the reality, but he was concerned that they could have been traveling with a Shadow Triad. Paul looked over to see Max and Misty on the other side of the hallway, giving him a thumb up.

"I heard from Brock that Cilan was downstairs in the lobby." Max said in a hushed tone towards Paul.

"All right, so we have to do this now." Paul walked over to the room, taking the spare room key that was in his hand.

"So, are you sure that this is a good idea?" Misty looked around, hoping that Cilan wasn't going to show up at any moment.

"Relax, as long as Brock and May can keep him busy downstairs then we'll be fine." Paul continued to open the door to the room. Paul felt the knob of the door turn, allowing them entry to their traveling companions room. "All right, we have to find something that might be from the Shadow Triads, anything."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Misty and Max agreed with Paul, looking around the room to find something that could incriminate Cilan. As Paul continued to look he noticed a duffle bag that was by the side of the bed, prompting Paul to turn his attention to it. He walked over and started to ruffle with the bags, becoming more and more interested in what had to be in there. Paul's suspicions appeared to have paid off for the young trainer.

"Well, well, well. Look what I found here." Paul pulled out a white wig from the duffle bag. Along with it was a ninja suit with a green emblem on it. Irene's suspicions could have been right after all. Misty and Max joined Paul, staring at the uniform in fear.

"So it's true." Misty looked over to Paul, then back at the bag. "Cilan _is_ the Shadow Triad."

"What's going on in here?" Paul dropped the uniform back in the bag, startled by the voice that came from the door. It was Ash, along with Dawn and they both weren't very happy that Paul, Misty and Max were inside Cilan's room.

"What's going on? Why are you in Cilan's room?" Dawn further pressed the question. Max, Misty and Paul turned their attention to their friends, remembering what Cynthia said but not wanting to lie to Ash any longer.

"Um, Ash." Paul got up from his position to walk over to the door, guilt tying itself in a knot in his stomach. "There's something that we have to tell you. It's about Cilan."

* * *

**A/N: Uh-oh, looks like Paul found out the truth about the third Shadow Triad. But now that he knows, will he have the heart to tell Ash or will he have to agree to what Cynthia said? Why did Cress just show up to have lunch with Irene and then leave again. Was it for a friendly visit-or was it something else? And who was the man watching the kids from the balcony?! All those answers and more will be revealed next time on _Pokémon: The Electric Project._**


	13. The Truth About Lucius

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, Irene met up with an old friend of her's and Ash's-Cress who happens to be Cilan's brother. Paul found out a shocking secret about Cilan-but was stopped by Ash when Ash wondered what Paul, Misty and Max were doing in Cilan's room. Will Paul tell Ash the truth? Read on to find out!**

* * *

Paul continued to stare at Ash and Dawn who were standing in Cilan's doorway, about to tell them the truth about what Cilan was really doing there until he weighed everything in. If he told Ash and Dawn the truth then not only would Ash get mad at him, but he would lose the trust of the Champions. He promised them that he was going to keep Irene's suspicions from Ash, and if he told Ash the reality of things then he would break Cynthia and Alder's confidence in him.

"What is it? What did you want to tell me about Cilan?" Ash crossed his arms, staring at his rival. Paul continued to think for a minute, finally deciding on what he was going to do.

"Well, the thing about Cilan is…well…" Paul started to confess, twisting his head to look away from Ash. "He said he wanted to talk to you downstairs." Ash stared at Paul with a blank expression, his eyebrow arching.

"Cilan wanted to see me?" Ash questioned. Paul took a moment before nodding his head in agreement.

"Yeah, he said he found something about the first gem that he wanted to share with you before we headed off to the ferry tomorrow." Paul sighed. Ash and Dawn looked to one another then stared back at Ash's competitor with confusion.

"All right, we'll go and check to see what Cilan wants." Ash and Dawn exited the room, Paul releasing a heavy sigh of relief.

"Why didn't you tell Ash about what we found?" Max interrogated the older trainer.

"You should have just told Ash the truth about Cilan." Misty added, seeing Paul's face twist into guilt.

"If I had told him that Cilan was a part of the Shadow Triad then he would be upset and think that the only reason that I'm telling him this is because I might be somewhat jealous of him." Paul reasoned with the other trainers. "Plus, we all promised Cynthia that we weren't going to say anything that could ruin the whole operation. This could be something that could get everyone killed."

"I know we promised Cynthia, but you were the one that didn't want to lie to Ash in the first place." Misty placed a hand on Paul's shoulder. "And now we have proof that Cilan is the Shadow Triad."

"No, all we have is a costume and a wig. He could be playing dress-up for all we know." Paul looked to the duffle bag once again, his eyebrow's furrowing. "But I want to be sure that what we're accusing Cilan of is true. We just have to keep a close eye on him."

"We?" Max repeated.

"We." Paul answered back, a sharp tone in his voice. "All of us need to keep an eye out for Cilan just in case he decided to attack us when we weren't looking. We also need to prevent Ash and Dawn from getting suspicious."

"But they are going to get suspicious eventually, Paul." Misty shrugged her shoulders at her logic, hating to rain on Paul's mini parade.

"Well, we do the best we can for now." Paul placed Cilan's duffle bag under the bed where he found it, starting to head out the door. "Just for the meantime, don't act like you know about Cilan around him just so he doesn't come lashing out at us for knowing his secret. We need to protect everyone around here. There's no telling just what Cilan can do."

"Wait, but if Cilan is one third of the Shadow Triads, then who are the red and blue ones?" Max wondered.

"We'll find that out when we reach that bridge." Paul started to walk out of the room. "In the meantime, we just need to make sure Cilan doesn't attack, so keep an eye out for where he's going at all times." Paul exited the room leaving Misty and Max in their thoughts. If things were as bad as Paul said they were going to be—then they needed to prepare. They couldn't have Cilan ruin everything that they've worked so hard for.

* * *

The next morning, Ash surprisingly was the first one up, heading downstairs to the lobby of the Pokémon Center to get ready to head towards the ferry. Of course, he had to wait until everyone got out of bed so they could go, but Ash wanted to surprise them since they all made fun of him for being the last one up every morning. Ash walked over to the coffee station to pour himself a cup of coffee, Pikachu in tow until they heard someone right behind them. Ash turned his head to see Lucius standing there with an empty cup of coffee, giving Ash a glare and a mischievous smile.

"Well, aren't we up bright and early this morning?" Lucius tone was cold enough to send shivers down Ash and Pikachu's spines. He walked over to one of the machines, pouring himself a cup of coffee before pressing the caffeine drink to his lips.

"Why do you keep insisting on bothering me?" Ash gripped his cup of coffee tightly as he continued to stare at the man.

"Because Ash, I still know that you haven't told Dawn the truth and I'm getting a little tired of playing games." Lucius kept his eyes on the coffee inside his cup. "You told me you were going to tell her and she's going to hate the fact that you're messing with her head."

"No, she won't like the fact that you're messing with her head." Ash tried to keep calm, finding it extremely hard to do so.

"I'm not the one that's not telling her the truth." Lucius looked at Ash's face expression, content when Ash's face twisted with rage.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but it's not going to work." Ash's voice turned stern. "You said you were here because you knew about Team Plasma and the three gems. Plus you said you wanted to get to know Dawn better. I don't know if Dawn's mom would like the idea of you getting to know Dawn. As you can recall, she never told Dawn about you."

"I don't understand why Johanna would keep that a secret from her! My own daughter." Lucius hid the fact that he was hurt.

"Let's just say you're not the type of person that anyone wants around." Ash began to walk away, before turning around again to give Lucius a few words of advice. "I wouldn't want to be around my dad if I knew that he was a man that was bent on destruction. Think about it for a moment. Would you want to get to know your father if he was hurting Pokémon strictly for evil?" Ash and Pikachu left the room, leaving Lucius in his thoughts, letting Ash's words sink into his mind. Dawn had been more and more distant from him because he was thinking about how to bring out strength in Pokémon and the Electric Project. There was one project Lucius should have been focusing on at that point—the relationship between him and his daughter.

Ash walked into the lobby seeing Dawn descending the stairs with her beanie and backpack on, ready to go and find the first crystal. Dawn's eyes widened at the fact that Ash was standing before her, wide-awake and with coffee in his hands.

"I don't believe this. Stop the presses." Dawn joked around. "Ash Ketchum actually woke up before everyone else! This is a front page story." Ash chuckled sardonically at Dawn's words, handing her the second cup of coffee in his hands.

"Very funny." Dawn took the cup of coffee from Ash's hands, placing a good morning kiss on his cheek. "So, how did you sleep?"

"I was up all night thinking about finding the three crystals before Team Plasma. We have to find them." Ash looked determined, but his voice was filled with uncertainty. "Are you sure that we'll find them?"

"Of course we will." Dawn eased Ash's thoughts, placing her free hand on his arm. "Do you think that we should wake up the others?"

"All right, but I'm not waking up Gary." Ash chuckled, getting a head start up the stairs.

Dawn quickly followed Ash up the steps, calling out to him. "Wait, why don't you want to wake up Gary? Why do I have to? Ash? ASH!"

* * *

The teenagers along with the champions (and Lucius) were off to find the ferry, in hopes to find the first crystal before Team Plasma. While the other teenagers walked, Gary continued to scan the papers. As Gary continued to read the paper, he realized he couldn't multi-task when he tripped over a rock and almost landed on the floor were it not for Zoey and Eevee.

"Gary, you need to be careful where you're walking." Zoey practically scolded the researcher.

"Eevee!" Eevee pointed her paw to the Pokémon researcher.

"Sorry guys. It's just this information is fascinating. And there's something about legend in here." Gary flipped through one of the pages, getting the others attention.

"What did you say about the legend?" May asked Gary. Gary flipped through the paper, pointing to where he had read about the legend.

"You know how the Thunder crystal is guarded by a Zapdos, right?" Gary looked to his friends. "Well, according to the legend, the fire crystal is guarded by a Moltres and the ice crystal is guarded by an Articuno."

"Do the Moltres and Articuno happen to have the same marking as the shape of the stones they're guarding?" Paul questioned.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Gary answered the Pokémon trainer.

"So this shouldn't be hard to find." Paul said in a monotone voice. "A Zapdos with a heart shape, a Moltres with a fire shape and an Articuno with a snowflake shape. This should be easy." Paul continued walking ahead of the trainers, but kept his eye on Cilan the whole time. He wasn't going to let Cilan screw Ash over, not in a million years.

* * *

When the teenagers reached the ferry, they noticed that there were so many of them there. Cynthia and Alder looked in amazement, as if they hadn't seen this many boats in their lives. Dawn had to admit she was shocked as well. How were they going to find the ferry to take then to the Sinnoh region?

"I wonder why all these boats are here?" Gary asked aloud, saying what everyone else was thinking.

"I'm guessing it's for some type of festival or something?" Irene guessed. Ash and Dawn marveled at all of the ferries, trying to find the one to Sinnoh. They were going to have to do a lot of reading. Paul started to help them look for the boat that was heading to Sinnoh, but every time he looked at Ash, he felt guilty about not telling him about Cilan. He was sure that Cilan worked for the Shadow Triads, but he promised everyone around him that he was going to keep it a secret—for now at least.

"Paul? Did you find the boat yet?" Dawn turned to the Pokémon trainer. Paul looked stunned at Ash and Dawn, turning his head to the ferries.

"No, I just see a bunch going to Kanto, Johto and the Orange Islands. Maybe if we go along down that way, then we'll find the Sinnoh boats." Paul suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Ash nodded his head, Pikachu and Dawn agreeing with the trainer. The three trainers and Pokémon walked along the dock, looking for the boat. Paul turned around; Cilan was no longer in sight for any of the trainers—meaning that he had gotten away.

"Where on earth is Cilan?" Paul said aloud, causing Ash and Dawn to turn around.

"Why do you care about Cilan?" Ash crossed his arms, suspicion rising once again.

"Cilan? Did I say Cilan?" Paul tried to skate around the fact that he had mentioned Ash's Unova traveling partner.

"Yes, you did say Cilan." Dawn nodded her head. "Why are you so interested in Cilan?"

"It's just that—" Paul didn't know how he was going to get out of this one. Ash, Dawn and Pikachu were giving him looks, causing him to let out a defeated sigh. Maybe it was time for him to tell them the truth. "Well, there is something I have to tell you."

"What is it?" Ash didn't look amused towards his rival.

"Well, you see…Cilan, he—" Paul was caught off when they heard an explosion nearby, prompting the teenagers to turn their heads to the commotion.

"What on earth was that?" Dawn sounded a bit frightened.

"Come on, let's go find out." Ash started to run over to where the explosion happened with Paul quickly following. Dawn was a bit hesitant but after a moment of consideration, she followed Ash and Paul to the source. Ash's face turned frustrated when he spotted two thirds of the Shadow Triads, the red and the blue ones—and they weren't here to just take a ferry.

"We're here on orders from Team Plasma." The blue triad gave everyone a glare.

"We're looking for the red fire crystal, and we need information on where to find it." The red triad turned his attention to Ash, Dawn and Paul, a snicker emitting from his lips.

"Well, well, well…I see that we have someone that's going to tell us where we could find the crystal." The red and blue triads jumped in front of Ash and Dawn, causing Paul to take out a random Pokéball to throw it in the air.

"All right, Ninjask, stand by!" Out popped Paul's Ninjask from the Pokéball, prompting Dawn to pull out her Pokédex. Before Dawn could open it, Ash placed his hand on the top, raising his eyebrow at her.

"We could find out about Ninjask later." Ash whispered in his girlfriend's ear. Dawn quickly placed the Pokédex away, continuing to stare at Paul and Ninjask, in hopes that they would be able to defeat two thirds of the triads.

"Panpour, let's go." The blue triad threw the Pokéball, revealing the blue monkey Pokémon. Ash raised his eyebrow in suspicion, staring at the Pokémon that was before him. He was sure that he had seen Panpour somewhere before, but where?

"Ninjask, use Giga Impact on Panpour!" Paul instructed. Ninjask flew towards Panpour, the Giga Impact attack heading towards the water Pokémon.

"Hydro Pump." The blue triad quickly countered. Paul wasn't expecting the water Pokémon to quickly attack his Ninjask, sending the bug Pokémon flying into one of the exteriors of the ferries. Ninjask landed on the boardwalk, unable to get up, which caused Paul to grit his teeth in anger.

"Darn it." Paul muttered.

"So are you going to tell us where we could find the red fire crystal?" The blue triad walked forward with the red triad following.

"I don't think these children want to tell you where you could find the fire crystal." Dawn and Ash widened their eyes in surprise. It was a voice that they weren't expecting to hear—defending them. Dawn turned her head quickly to find Lucius standing there with a Pokéball in his hand, staring down at the blue triad.

"So, you want to play with us as well old man?" The blue triad snickered, looking down at his Panpour.

"Oh, I think that I could take the both of you down with my hands tied behind my back." Lucius firmly said, staring down the two triads. "Where's the other third of your pathetic posse? Back at Team Plasma headquarters knitting a defeat banner for your pathetic group?"

"Hey! Our green triad does more than knit!" The red triad retorted. "He also knows how to cook."

"Yes, his cooking is quite delicious." The blue triad sounded distracted for a moment.

"Ooh. Very scary." Lucius mockingly told the two triads. "Now, how about you get out of our hair and let us be on our way?"

"Not until we find the red fire crystal." The red triad stood tall and proud with the blue triad following.

"Well then you're going to be very disappointed because we're not telling you where the crystal is." Lucius crossed his arms with the Pokéball still in his hand.

"Well, what makes you think that you know?" The blue triad chuckled.

"I don't know, but when I do know, you won't be there to find it." Lucius retorted.

"Oh please. Let's just get this over with. Panpour, send these brats away with a powerful Hydro Pump." The blue triad pointed out to his Pokémon. Lucius threw the Pokéball revealing it to be the same Raichu that Dawn remembered seeing when Lucius kidnapped her and Pikachu.

"Raichu, use Thunderbolt." Lucius swiftly commanded. Raichu's cheeks started to glow, allowing the Pokémon to emit a powerful thunderbolt towards the blue monkey Pokémon. The thunderbolt hit Panpour, automatically weakening him and sending him flying into the blue triad. The red triad then turned his attention to his fellow comrade, rushing over to his aid.

"Why did you do that for?" The red triad somewhat whined. Ash continued to stare at the red and the blue triads, trying to pinpoint where he had seen them before. Of course, he knew he hadn't seen the triads but the way that they were acting—it was almost as if he had seen people that he knew act in the same manner as them.

"Let's take that as a warning. Follow us to the crystal and you will be sorry." Lucius seethed, scaring two thirds of the shadow triads into getting up and running off into hiding. Dawn continued to stare at Lucius, trying to figure out _why_ he had decided to save them.

"Why did you come in and intervene?" Dawn snapped towards the former head of Team Electric. "We were doing just fine here on our own."

"No you weren't." Lucius turned back around to his daughter—although Dawn didn't know it. "A simple 'thank you' would suffice." Dawn looked shocked at the man, unsure what she should do. After a moment of contemplating, she let out a sigh of defeat.

"Thank you." Dawn grudgingly said.

"You're welcome." Lucius turned back, looking to the other teenagers. "I would suggest that we get back to the others—and we won't speak of this episode to anyone. No need to worry the Champions or any of your little friends about the Shadow Triads."

"But I thought that we were looking for the boat that heads to Sinnoh." Dawn continued to be stubborn.

"And the fellow with the Eevee found the boat on the other side of the dock. I suggest that we get to the others before the ship leaves." Lucius started to walk to where the other teenagers were, leaving Dawn in a confused matter.

"He's up to something." Dawn noticed Lucius wasn't looking back to the teenagers.

"Or he probably just wanted to come and save us." Ash shrugged his shoulders, trying to get his stubborn girlfriend to start following him.

"Are you really that stupid?" Paul slapped his forehead in agony. "Lucius is obviously up to something and you're going to slowly come to terms that he might be a _good guy_?"

"Well, he _did_ save you and Ninjask just a moment ago." Ash walked ahead of Dawn and Paul.

"So just because he saved us, all of a sudden he's all high and mighty?" Dawn crossed her arms. "And you out of everyone didn't even want Lucius to come here."

"What do you mean?" Ash turned around.

"You didn't want Lucius to even come in the first place, and all of a sudden you're warming up to him?" Dawn was becoming more and more confused by the moment.

"Can't you just be grateful that he saved us from those triads? They were stronger than Paul's Ninjask and I doubt any of us would have been able to take them on!" Ash snapped. Dawn looked taken aback, never hearing Ash actually yell at her before. Ash quickly realized that he let his anger get the best of him, placing a hand on Dawn's shoulder while she stared at him in shock. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you, it's just…"

"No, I get it." Dawn put her hand up, an annoyed expression on her face. "You just want everyone to do the right thing all the time, so you're trying to get _me_ to try to appreciate _him_. The only problem is, I want nothing to do with him." Paul took the midst of their argument to quickly get away from the scene, Pikachu jumping off Ash's shoulder to follow him. "He kidnapped me, locked me in some room and you expect me to just let my guard down because he saved us one time from the triads!" Dawn turned around, starting to walk away.

"But Dawn…" Ash started to follow her.

"Okay, just what is going on with you? Lately you've been acting a little weird and secretive about something." As soon as the words came out of Dawn's mouth, she stared at Ash disbelievingly, hoping that her thoughts weren't true. "You're not cheating on me are you?"

"What?!" Ash spat out, looking at Dawn in misperception. "No! I'd never do that."

"Then what is it? What are you hiding from me that has you acting crazy lately? What did Lucius say to you?"

"What makes you think that Lucius said something to me?" Ash pointed to himself.

"Because that night when we were camping out, when you went to go and check on the Shadow Triads with Paul and Gary, I saw you talking to Lucius. And ever since then, you have been acting weird." Dawn felt her voice break, seeing Ash's face turn remorseful. "So whatever you want to say to me, you better say it now!"

"Dawn, I don't think this is the right time to talk about this…" Ash tried to calm Dawn down.

"No! I want to hear what you have to say. What did Lucius tell you? I know that night weren't telling me the whole truth and I want to hear the whole truth now." Ash looked defeated towards Dawn, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"All right, I want you to do me a favor. What I'm about to tell you, you can't freak out. Do you think you can do that for me?" Ash stared into Dawn's eyes. Dawn slowly shook her head, seeing Ash was about to admit something that he had been hiding from her. "So, the main reason that Lucius came along wasn't because he could have been of assistance to us. He said that the reason he wanted to come was so he could get to know you better."

"Get to know me better? Why would he want to do that?" Dawn's voice was a mixture of anger and interest.

"Because…" Ash let out a deep breath, staring into Dawn's eyes. "Lucius is your father." Dawn stared at Ash, not sure if she had heard him correctly. She continued to stare at him and when she knew Ash wasn't lying, she suddenly started to feel angry all over again.

"Lucius is my _WHAT?!_" Dawn shouted. Ash covered his ears and turned to Dawn, seeing that her face was red with anger.

"He's your father, and can you not make such a scene? Everyone is looking at us." Ash practically begged.

"He's my father, and you didn't tell me. Why didn't you tell me?!" Dawn felt angry, saddened and most of all betrayed. She felt betrayed because Ash had known an important secret about Lucius and he purposely hid it from her.

"I didn't tell you because I was trying to protect you." Ash continued to stare at Dawn. Dawn began to look a little pale, turning her head away to prevent looking at her boyfriend.

"I think I'm seriously going to be sick." Dawn let out loud shallow breaths as tears started to fall from her eyes.

"Dawn? Are you okay?" Ash questioned, but after observing her face expression, he wanted to mentally slap himself.

"Am I okay?" Dawn repeated Ash's statement, furrowing her eyebrows. "AM I OKAY?! I just found out that the man that kidnapped me and locked me in a room is my father and that my boyfriend lied to me!"

"Hold the phone there, I didn't _lie_ to you." Ash put his hands up defensively.

"But you didn't tell me the truth as soon as you found out, and that's just as bad as lying!" Dawn barked at him. Ash took a step back, realizing that this was a lot of information for her to take in.

"Dawn…" Ash tried to place his hand back on her shoulder but she shook him off, unable to look at him.

"So this is why my mother didn't tell me about who my father was. He ended up being the head of an evil team that just wants to deal with Pokémon for evil purposes." Dawn wiped her eyes, turning away from Ash.

"Dawn, please just talk to me. I don't want you to be mad because I was trying to protect you." Dawn clenched her fists while gritting her teeth at Ash's comment, turning around to give him a piece of her mind.

"I don't need _your_ help! I can take care of myself! I had wanted to find out who my father was and after you promised that you were going to help me find out who he was, you didn't tell me once you knew. I don't know if I'm portrayed as this weak little girl in your mind, but I'm stronger than what everyone thinks." Dawn turned around heading to find her friends, leaving Ash standing there by himself.

"Dawn, I'm sorry okay?" Ash yelled out. Dawn stopped in her tracks but continued walking without looking back at him. She didn't have anything else to say to him. Right now, she had to focus on finding the fire crystal, without any more distractions.

* * *

Dawn and Ash eventually met up with Cynthia and Alder, and by judging Dawn and Ash's face expressions, Cynthia knew that Ash had told Dawn what she didn't want to hear. She was going to have to talk to them later, but right now, they had to head over to the Sinnoh region and find the red crystal by Mt. Coronet.

"So is everyone ready to go to Mt. Coronet?" Cynthia clapped her hands with a smile. Everyone couldn't help but keep their focus on Dawn, seeing that she was in a worse mood than when she left with Ash and Paul earlier. They wanted to help her, but that was going to have to wait until later.

"Just where by Mt. Coronet is the first fire crystal?" Max wondered, trying to defer the subject.

"We'll just have to see when we get there." Cynthia let out a small smile, leading the others on the ship. As Dawn tried to walk past Cynthia, Cynthia put a hand on the young Pokémon coordinator, prompting her to turn around to face the champion. "Dawn, do you think that I can talk to you for a moment?"

"If this is about Lucius and Ash then I don't want to talk about it." Dawn felt a ball of anger knot up in her stomach.

"I actually did want to talk to you about that, because there's something that you need to know." Cynthia's face turned soft.

"Like what? That Ash lied to me about my father?" Dawn's voice sounded bitter.

"He was wracked up with guilt, trying to figure out how he was going to tell you. Trust me, the last thing he wanted was to see you hurt." Cynthia explained. Hearing Cynthia's words made Dawn think about it for a moment.

"So he really didn't want to hurt me?" Dawn tried to find the strength to ask.

"Of course not." Cynthia waved her hand dismissively. "If there's anyone Ash would never want to hurt, it would be you. He was trying to find the right time to tell you." Dawn suddenly felt guilty for making Ash look like the bad guy. He was just trying to protect her feelings—and he had been losing sleep over how to tell her!

"Oh, do you think that he might be mad after the argument that we had?" Dawn sounded guilt ridden.

"Oh contraire." Cynthia let out a reassuring grin. "I do think you should talk to Ash though. He was only trying to do what was best for the both of you."

"All right, I will talk to him. I just don't want to lose him because of one argument. I love him too much for that." Dawn reciprocated the grin, which prompted Cynthia's grin to widen.

"I know you and Ash love each other." Cynthia softly spoke. "I haven't seen love like that in my entire life. It's actually nice to know that it exists. Just remember, you will sometimes get into arguments with him but you have to take a step back and realize how much you actually care about him. People become blinded by rage and anger that they forget that there are reasons behind everything. In Ash's case, he just didn't want you to get hurt."

"I understand that now." Dawn assured Cynthia. "Thank you so much for explaining that to me." Dawn went off onto the ship in hopes of finding Ash and repairing the damage from the argument earlier that day. Cynthia turned her head to see Paul interested in Cynthia's conversation with Dawn, unable to hold a slight chuckle.

"So Paul, did you learn anything from that conversation?" Cynthia wondered.

"What? Me? No." Paul quickly shook his head and turned his head away from the Sinnoh Champion.

"You are blinded by love Paul. You really are." Cynthia chuckled.

"I am not in love with anyone." Paul firmly stated.

"Are you sure about that?" Cynthia slightly teased.

"I'm sure." Paul found his eyes wandering over towards Misty, seeing her talking to Gary and Daisy while holding her Azurill in her arms. Paul felt his cheeks redden as he continued to stare at the gym leader.

"I think you're in love with Misty, but you just don't see it yet." Cynthia pressed on. Paul didn't argue back with Cynthia, mostly because it wouldn't have been polite. He just considered her reasoning as he continued to stare at the Pokémon gym leader. Was he in love with Misty? He knew he was falling for her, but he wasn't sure if it was love _quite_ yet.

"Well, I…I don't know." Paul noticed Cilan boarding the boat—after everyone else had gotten on which raised Paul's suspicions. "Cilan, where have _you_ been?"

"I was busy in the town market? Why?" Cilan continued to stare at the brooding trainer who was oozing with so much suspicion that you could practically smell it. Cilan decided to walk past Paul in an attempt to ignore him, but Paul just continued to stare at the trainer knowing what Cilan was up to, whether Cilan knew it or not.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu stared out at the ocean down below them deep in thought as the ferry made its way to the Sinnoh region. Ash couldn't help but feel heavy hearted. Not only did he make Dawn upset, he felt like he was the worst boyfriend in the entire world by keeping Dawn's father's identity a secret from her. Ash was knocked out of his thoughts, seeing Dawn walking up to him and leaning against the railing of the boat.

"I figured you would be out here." Dawn noticed the sun setting in the horizon in which Ash's eyes followed.

"I figured you would still be mad at me." Ash finally said after an awkward moment of silence.

"I spoke with Cynthia and she said that you were wracked with guilt because you didn't know whether to tell me or not. I still think you should have told me the moment that you found out, but I realized that you were only staying quiet because you cared about me so much." Dawn let out a grin.

"Of course, I do care about you." Ash looked into Dawn's eyes that were shining mostly because the sun was going down. "That was the reason that I kept it a secret from you. I knew you wanted nothing to do with Lucius, which was why I kept it from you. It was wrong and I'm sorry. So, if you have ever wanted to stop talking to me, I'll understand completely." Ash looked away from Dawn in embarrassment, but something happened that he wasn't expecting—Dawn placed a kiss on his cheek. Ash turned his head to Dawn to see a small smile on her face. Why was she smiling? Ash had completely blew it and yet—she was smiling?

"I love you so much. You know that, right?" Dawn placed a hand on Ash's cheek, noticing his still confused face.

"But, I didn't tell you about your dad." Ash continued to look guilty, but Dawn snapped him out of it with the grin on her face.

"You loved me that much just to protect me. You are honestly the best boyfriend ever." Dawn wrapped her arms around Ash's shoulders, Ash quickly reciprocating the hug.

"I was afraid that I was going to lose you." Ash admitted.

"You weren't going to lose me silly." Dawn looked into Ash's eyes, giving him a loving glance. "I was mad, but after taking some time to understand why you did what you did, I'm actually touched that you cared so much." Dawn pressed her lips to Ash's, the trainer kissing his girlfriend back. After the long embrace, Dawn parted her lips from her boyfriend's, leaning her forehead on his. "I just need you to promise me one more thing."

"Anything." Ash nodded his head.

"No more secrets, please?" Dawn made Ash promise.

"You got yourself a deal." Ash pressed his lips to Dawn's once more before parting and holding her close to him. "So, are you ready to go and get that fire crystal?"

"I'm actually kind of scared, but having you by my side will make it less frightening." Dawn admitted. "I'm just afraid that we won't find the crystal in time."

"We will find the crystal in time." Ash assured Dawn, forcing her to look into his eyes. "I know we'll find it before Team Plasma." Dawn felt content looking into Ash's eyes, holding on tightly to him.

"I love you." Dawn whispered as they looked out at the sun setting.

"I love you too." Ash tightened his grip on his girlfriend, staring out at the horizon.

* * *

When it was dark out and when everyone went to sleep in the ferry cabin, Paul noticed Cilan looking out at the sky. Paul was certain that Cilan was a Shadow Triad; he could sense it with every fiber in his body. Paul walked over to the Pokémon connoisseur, an eyebrow raised.

"I know what you are." Paul crossed his arms, staring at Cilan.

"Don't let this be like a lame romance movie where you expect me to say I'm a vampire." Cilan turned to Paul, a scowl twisting on his face.

"I wasn't trying to make a reference to that." Paul shuddered. He then remembered what he was doing, and his face turned serious once more. "I know that you're here because you're a part of the third Shadow Triad."

"You think I'm a part of the third Shadow Triad?" Cilan pointed to himself.

"Hmm, let's think for a moment—yes." Paul pretended to think, staring at Cilan.

"And what makes you think that?" Cilan's voice sounded eerily friendly.

"Let's think about the fact that you have a white wig, a ninja outfit with a green emblem and when the red and blue triads follow us, you seem to be the only one that's missing." Paul pointed to the connoisseur. "Listen to me, I'm not too fond of Ash but I'm not going to let you come here and take advantage of his kindness because he's a naïve idiot that believes that there's good in everyone."

"You think that I'm doing this to make Ash look like an idiot in front of everyone?" Cilan walked past Paul, a smug look appearing on his face. "I'm not doing anything of the sort."

"All right, who sent you here and why?" Paul began to follow Cilan.

"It's classified." Cilan peered at the Pokémon trainer before turning away.

"If you do anything that will hurt Ash then you're going to be sorry." Paul clenched his fists, staring at Cilan.

"Ash is my _friend_ Paul. You're just his rival. The moment Ash figures everything out, I'll make it look like you were the one that betrayed him, not I. The difference between being a friend and a rival is that Ash will believe me and not you because he'll think that you're always out to get him." Cilan started heading back to his room, prompting Paul to stand there in rage. He wasn't going to let Ash become a victim to this jerk. He had to prove Cilan was a Shadow Triad once and for all—even if it meant protecting Ash from him.

* * *

**A/N: Cilan is now aware that Paul knows of his secret-and plans on using his friendship with Ash to turn it on Paul! Will Ash find out the truth about Cilan? Will our heroes become successful in getting the first crystal from Mt. Coronet in the Sinnoh Region? We'll find out next time on _Pokémon: The Electric Project!_**


	14. Introduction To The Scientist

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, two-thirds of the Shadow Triads attacked the ferry dock which was where Dawn learned that Ash was hiding a very important secret from her. Eventually Ash earned Dawn's forgiveness, but a new problem arises -Paul knows about Cilan's secret! What drama can happen on our heroes journey to find the fire crystal? Read to find out!**

* * *

"Are you sure that it's this way?" May asked while Irene pulled her by the arm the next morning on the way to the breakfast lounge on the ferry. Zoey, Max and Brock followed the two coordinators who were currently in a small debate—over food.

"I'm sure it's this way." Irene pointed in the opposite direction than she had initially dragged May, causing May to become frustrated.

"Listen, I'm hungry, so unless you know how to get to the breakfast lounge, then let go of my arm!" May shouted.

"Don't take it personally Irene." Max tried to vouch for his sister. "This is how she gets when she's hungry all the time. As a matter of fact, there was one time where—" Max didn't get far in explaining the story when May pulled her brother closer to her, daggers in her eyes.

"If you want to live to see your next birthday, I suggest that you don't finish that story." May told her brother in an eerily calm manner. Max quickly muzzled himself, staring at his sister with a frightened look.

"Are they always like that?" Irene whispered over to Brock and Zoey.

"Oh, trust me. Sometimes it's worse." Brock whispered back, trying to prevent May and Max from overhearing them. "I suggest that we feed May before she goes King-Kong on the ferry and tears down walls trying to find the breakfast lounge."

"I think that's a good idea." Zoey continued to stare in awe at the brother and sister still arguing. "I don't know whose worse, Gary and Daisy or May and Max."

"Gary and Daisy by a long shot." Brock quickly answered. May walked over to Brock, Irene and Zoey with a satisfied grin.

"Let's go and find that breakfast buffet!" May pumped her fist in the air with a determined expression. Brock ushered the teenagers to the breakfast buffet. _Maybe it's downstairs but we had better find it soon before May goes through every room in this ship, _Brock thought to himself.

The teenagers eventually found the breakfast buffet in the downstairs portion of the ferry but to May's annoyance, there was a long line just to get in. May held onto her stomach as it began to rumble, her eyebrows furrowing at the line.

"Just great! Just fantastic! We're stuck here on line waiting to get some food!" May got on her knees and started shouting as if she were screaming to the world.

"You're causing a scene." Irene sheepishly told May, turning to Zoey, Max and Brock who had the same face expression as she did.

"I don't care!" May got up and knocked into someone that was on the line ahead of them.

"May, be careful! You knocked into that man!" Max scolded his sister.

"Oops." May turned her head to the figure that was ahead of her. "I am so sorry." The man turned around towards the teenagers, a small smile appearing on his lips.

"Oh, that's quite alright children. Don't worry about it." The man's focus soon shifted to Irene who was staring back at the man with a smile. Did Irene know the man from somewhere?

"I can't believe that you're here!" Irene exclaimed, walking over to the man with the lab coat and embracing him.

"Do you know him, Irene?" May questioned, pointing to the man. Zoey and Brock's confused expressions soon vanished, realizing what was going on here.

"I don't believe it. That's Irene's dad!" Zoey explained to May and Max.

"Oh, where are my manners." Irene looked to her friends keeping a hand on her father's arm. "May, Max this is my father Colress. He's a scientist working on a project. Dad, these are my friends May and Max. I'm sure that you met Zoey and Brock before."

"I have, it's very nice to see you May and Max."

"It's very nice to meet you as well." May and Max answered in unison.

"Do you mind if I ask what you're doing here?" Colress wondered, looking to his daughter.

"We're here because we're going to Sinnoh for a very important mission." May answered. "But we were on this line because we're hungry."

"Oh silly me, of course. Why don't we all get some breakfast and then we can talk some more?" Colress suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea." Irene agreed with her father, leading them to the cafeteria to eat. Once they made it into the cafeteria, they all sat around a table with breakfast staring at Colress with interest.

"So what kind of research do you do?" Max questioned with enthusiasm.

"I research how to bring out the true power of different types of Pokémon." Colress explained, buttering his toast. "It's actually really interesting with all the research I had been able to collect."

"It sounds amazing." May awed.

"Yes, but unfortunately while I'm trying to use the information for the greater good, there are other teams that are trying to use the information for evil." Colress felt dejected while staring at his daughter.

"You mean like Team Plasma?" Irene questioned.

"Yes, just like Team Plasma." Colress sounded shocked that Irene knew something about them.

"It's a long story about how we know about Team Plasma." Irene told her father, staring over at the others who were busy enjoying their breakfast.

"Well, I'm trying to protect the knowledge and information that I know from Team Plasma." Colress stared down at the table, the others noticing his saddened demeanor.

"Don't worry dad, if there's anyone that can protect a bunch of Pokémon, it's you." Irene assured her father.

"I hope your right Irene." Colress's face then turned stern, staring at his daughter. "So what exactly are you doing heading to Sinnoh. I thought you were competing in contests in Unova." Before Irene could answer her father, she noticed Paul entering the cafeteria with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Paul's gaze wandered over to Colress and the others, reluctantly going over to sit down with his traveling companions. As his eyes gazed over to Colress, confusion was apparent on his face. _Who is this guy_? Paul wondered.

"Good morning Paul." Zoey tried to sound chipper towards the Pokémon trainer.

"Morning." Paul quickly answered, his eyes staring at the Pokémon scientist. "Who's the guy in the weird cape?"

"Paul!" May scolded the trainer. Paul stared at May, a scowl appearing on his face. There was no need for all of that now was there?

"What? You can't hold me accountable for what I say." Paul simply shrugged his shoulders, taking a seat next to Brock.

"Paul, this is my father Colress. He's a Pokémon scientist. Dad, this is Paul." Irene introduced them.

"This brooding fellow isn't your boyfriend, now is he?" Colress raised an eyebrow to Irene causing the coordinator and trainer to look taken aback at the scientist.

"My boyfriend?! No way!" Irene quickly deferred Colress's thought. Paul simply scowled at Irene, turning his attention to Colress.

"No offense but I'd rather date a mop than date Irene. She's too high strung." Paul leaned back in his chair, earning a shove in his shoulder from Brock.

"Irene is high strung, I'd admit that." Colress slightly chuckled.

"Besides, I wouldn't date Paul even if he was the only boy in town and there wasn't another boy a million miles away." Irene nonchalantly answered.

"Well, I wouldn't date you even if you were the last person on earth." Paul retorted.

"I wouldn't date you if you were only boy that existed in the last century!" Irene countered.

"Can we just enjoy our breakfast please?" Zoey played with her fork for a moment, trying to prevent Paul and Irene from tearing each other's heads off. Paul quickly got up from his seat to get something to eat, nudging Irene's seat causing her to almost fall out of her chair. Paul let out a snicker, heading towards the line to get food until—

_WHAM!_

Paul quickly fell off balance and landed on the ground in front of a person with pink and white boots. Paul quickly turned around to see none other than Jigglypuff puffing her body towards the Pokémon trainer. Paul emitted a low growl, turning back around to see none other than Dawn and Ash staring down at him.

"You know Paul; I don't think the floor is where you're going to get breakfast." Dawn quipped.

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Paul quickly got up from the ground and dusted himself off, his eye contact returning to the Jigglypuff. "Why don't you two go and meet Colress. He's Irene's father and he's dying to meet some of her _friends_."

"So why aren't you over there?" Dawn pointed to the table with the others.

"One, I'm hungry." Paul stated the obvious. "Second of all, I'm not Irene's _friend_." Paul headed to the line to get breakfast, causing Dawn to shrug her shoulders. Dawn and Ash walked over to the table to study Colress while Dawn sat down in the seat that was previously occupied by Paul.

"Hi there!" Dawn waved to Colress.

"Dad, this is Ash and Dawn." Irene introduced the trainer and coordinator to her father.

"Ah, I've heard so much about you Ash." Colress looked as if he was marveling over the trainer.

"You have?" Ash pointed to himself in shock.

"Yes, you recently beat Trip in the Unova League. That was an amazing strategy that you used in that matchup." Colress beamed towards the trainer.

"Um, thank you so much." Ash graciously acknowledged the scientist.

"Last time I recalled, you had a Pikachu. Where is the little Pokémon?" Colress looked around, hoping to see Ash's traveling partner—and best friend.

"Pikachu's sleeping so; I left him back at my room." Ash explained. "He said he was going to also hang out with Gary after he woke up."

"Gary?" Colress raised an eyebrow.

"Gary is Ash's best friend from Pallet Town." Irene explained. "Gary's a Pokémon researcher along with his sister, Daisy."

"Gary and Daisy, they don't happen to be Gary and Daisy Oak, the grandchildren of Professor Oak?" Colress sounded fascinated.

"Yeah, they are." Ash nodded his head.

"I've been following the youngest one's work for a while now. He's quite talented for being only seventeen years old." Colress's fascination then turned to Ash. "Aren't you seventeen as well, Ash?"

"Well, I'm turning seventeen on…" Ash started to count off before his face dawned with realization. "Today! It's my birthday!"

"And you forgot your own birthday?!" Max slapped his own forehead, staring at his friend.

"Hey, there's been a lot going on lately." Ash retorted.

"I was wondering if you all wouldn't mind. I'm doing some research and since we won't be in Sinnoh until tomorrow I was wondering if I could battle some of you to study how to bring the full strength in Pokémon." Colress wondered.

"I'd like to help!" Irene raised her hand, hoping that this would give her more time to spend with her father.

"Me too!" Zoey raised her hand.

"Me as well." May agreed. Paul returned to the table, hearing Colress's offer for a battle to bring out the strength of a Pokémon. That caused Ash to have an idea.

"I think if there's anyone that you're going to battle, it has to be Paul." Ash suggested. "Paul's one of the strongest trainers I've ever seen." Paul continued to stare at his rival, his eyebrow arching. What was Ash getting at?

"Would you mind battling against me Paul?" Colress stared at Paul. Paul contemplated for a moment before finally shrugging his shoulders with a cocky grin.

"Sure, I'd love to battle you, but I think that you're going to be sorry you took me on." Colress admired Paul's determination—but it was somewhat mixed with arrogance.

"Fine, then you'll be the first that I battle." Colress got up from the table, motioning Paul to follow him. "I saw a training room somewhere in this ferry so we can battle here."

"Aren't you going to help Colress with his research too Ash?" Dawn looked to her boyfriend while Paul and the scientist walked away with the others following.

"Any other occasion, I would say yes—but this time I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass." Ash answered. Dawn became shocked that Ash out of all people was planning to skip out of a battle. It wasn't like him.

"Is there a reason why? You must be sick or something." Dawn went over to feel his forehead.

"No, I feel fine. I guess I don't want to battle right now. Besides, we should continue to focus about the first crystal by Mt. Coronet." Ash explained to his girlfriend. Dawn finally understood where Ash was coming from, a sly smirk appearing on her face.

"So you don't want to battle because of the mission. Oh, you've grown up so much." Dawn pinched Ash's cheeks teasingly, causing the teenager to blush.

"Ouch! Dawn!" Ash playfully countered. Dawn giggled slightly, which meant that Dawn was finally distracted. He cupped her face to kiss her softly but before his lips could touch hers, she moved her face giving him another sly grin.

"Oh no you don't…" Dawn started to walk away giving him a small wink. "I'll see you later my love." As Dawn left the room, Ash stood there dumbfounded. She completely blew off his kiss and then just walked out of the room—without being mad. She had something up her sleeve, but what was it?

"I don't even get a 'Happy Birthday' do I?" Ash sat down in the seat that was occupied by Dawn, thinking over and over what Dawn could have been planning, but little did he know Dawn was planning something big—something to prove to Ash how much she loved him.

* * *

Colress led Paul to one of the rooms that were a battlefield with May, Max, Zoey, Irene and Brock following. As they observed the rocky battlefield, Paul was contemplating what Pokémon he was going to use, what tactic he was going to pull, just so he could prove to Colress that he was a powerful trainer. Colress looked over to Irene who was watching Paul, convinced that maybe there was something going on between the trainer and the coordinator.

"So are you going to stand there and inhale the air all day or are we going to battle?" Paul was standing on one end of the gym, crossing his arms impatiently.

"Well then, someone seems antsy." Colress walked to the other end of the battlefield, giving Paul a confident stare. He then turned to Irene and her friends. "Would any of you like to be the referee of the Pokémon battle?"

"I would." Brock politely answered, walking to the seating area that was occupied for the referee's. Irene and the others followed Brock to the seating area and sat where the spectators would watch the Pokémon battle ahead of them. Paul looked out at the scientist, gripping a Pokéball that was in his pocket. "The battle between Paul and Colress will now begin! Each trainer is allowed to use one Pokémon for the battle. Last Pokémon standing will be declared the winner. Are the rules clear to both sides?"

"Yes." Colress and Paul answered at the same time.

"Let your Pokémon out and begin!" Brock waved his hand down as if he was waving a flag. Paul took the Pokéball from his back pocket, throwing it to the middle of the battlefield.

"Ninjask! Stand By!" Paul shouted as his Pokémon revealed itself. Colress took his Pokéball out, throwing it to the middle of the battlefield as well.

"Beheeyem! I choose you!" Colress shouted. Paul stared at the Pokémon that appeared before him, looking a bit dazed after never seeing it before. Paul reached into his pocket to grab his Pokédex to attempt to scan the Pokémon.

"**No data in this Pokédex**." Paul's Pokédex answered. Paul wanted to throw the Pokédex on the ground in answer, realizing that Ash and Gary were the only ones with an updated Pokédex—and neither of them being in the room for the moment.

"Just great!" Paul shouted in anger. "Where is Oak and Ketchum when you need them?"

"So you couldn't find information on this Pokémon, huh?" Irene teased. Paul angrily turned towards the stands, clenching is Pokédex in his hand.

"Shut it, you." Paul retorted to the coordinator. Irene wasn't unfazed by Paul's snappy attitude, she just simply sat down and continued to watch the battle before them.

"Is something wrong Paul?" Colress looked to the trainer.

"Um, I don't have information on…what is this thing?" Paul pointed to Colress's Pokémon.

"Why don't you call young Gary Oak over here and he could answer your questions." Colress simply answered. Paul looked to Zoey who was the closest thing to Gary, prompting her to go into her bag to text Gary. About two minutes later, Gary and Eevee burst into the room out of breath as if Gary was about to topple over.

"What did you say to him?" Paul inquired.

"I just told him that I needed his help with something." Zoey shrugged. "Not my fault he's so in love with me he drops whatever he's doing and runs to where I am."

"Zoey? Are you okay? Did you need something?" Gary shot question after question towards his girlfriend. Paul simply crossed his arms, looking away from the researcher.

"I actually needed your help…" Paul muttered. Gary turned to Paul, a sly smirk appearing on his face.

"Did you say something Paul?" Gary pretended he couldn't hear the trainer.

"I said I need your help." Paul said a little louder.

"What? I still can't hear you." Gary came closer to Paul, still taunting him. Paul grabbed Gary by his shirt collar, pulling him up close, an annoyed look appearing on Paul's face.

"I SAID I NEED YOUR HELP!" Paul shouted this time, causing Gary to cover his ears.

"All right, all right. I heard you the first time. I was just teasing." Gary made Paul release him finally giving Paul a serious look. "So what did you need?"

"Search that Pokémon in your Pokédex for me?" Paul pointed to Colress's Pokémon, Gary following Paul's finger.

"It's not in your Pokédex?" Gary turned back to the trainer, who looked slightly embarrassed.

"I forgot to update it after Sinnoh." Paul admitted. Gary took out his Pokédex to point it towards Colress's Pokémon to put a stop to all of the confusion.

"**Beheeyem, the Cerebral Pokémon. Beheeyem can control its opponents minds and confuse their memories with its Psychic power**."The Pokédex answered. Paul finally knew what Pokémon he was dealing with—a Psychic Pokémon.

"This should be easy. Bug types have an advantage against psychic types." Paul thought for a moment. He then turned to Gary, pointing to the stands. "Can you get in the stands so I don't accidentally kill you with one of Ninjask's awesome moves?" Gary took that as a warning, heading to the stands to sit next to Zoey and Irene. "Are you ready to battle now?" Paul crossed his arms, looking impatient.

"I've been ready since we got here. Let's begin. Why don't you have the first move, Paul? I insist." Colress volunteered to the young trainer.

"Don't mind if I do." Paul looked to Ninjask, a smile appearing on his face. "Ninjask, use Furry Cutter on Beheeyem!" Ninjask quickly swooped, it's hands beginning to glow a metallic white.

"Dodge it." Colress simply commanded. Beheeyem quickly got out of Ninjask's way, something that Paul wasn't anticipating. Paul turned his head to the psychic Pokémon, a bit dumbfounded. "Now use Psybeam." Beheeyem turned towards his opponent, unleashing a powerful Psybeam that looked as if it could knock Ninjask out with one shot.

"Oh, I don't think so. Dodge it Ninjask, then use Giga Drain!" Paul shouted. Ninjask flew to the roof of the battle arena, before attempting to find a way to sneak up on the psychic Pokémon.

"Don't let Ninjask fool you, Beheeyem!" Colress countered. Beheeyem tried every way possible to prevent Ninjask from getting in his way, finally realizing that its speed was the key to confusing Ninjask. After what seemed like a cat and mouse game, Beheeyem got behind Ninjask, looking to its trainer for the signal. "Zen Headbutt!" Paul didn't have time to counter the move, seeing that Beheeyem tackled Ninjask with a powerful headbutt, sending the Pokémon skidding across the battle arena. Paul hoped that Ninjask could continue battling—his hopes still alive as Ninjask slowly flew up into the air after a powerful hit.

"Like my Pokémon's strength?" Paul boasted.

"I wouldn't get so cocky, now would I?" Colress simply chuckled, looking to his Pokémon. "Beheeyem, Zen Psybeam!"

"Wait, what the heck is Zen Psybeam?!" Paul was sure that it wasn't a real move—but Paul was wrong. Beheeyem started to come towards Ninjask with a powerful headbutt, but at the last minute hit Ninjask square in the chest with a Psybeam, sending the Pokémon back into the wall with dark circles in its eyes.

"Ninjask is unable to battle, meaning the winner of the battle is Colress." Brock pointed to the scientist. Everyone watched in awe—except for Gary who understood what Colress had done there.

"That was really impressive, combining Zen Headbutt with Psybeam. Genius move." Gary simply analyzed.

"Yeah, that was impressive." Paul said under his breath, putting Ninjask back in the Pokéball. "Hmm, you're good."

"I am, aren't I?" Colress accepted Paul's compliment, something that caused the other trainers to stare in awe. Paul _never_ complimented a person's battling style, at least to their knowledge.

"How did you come up with that combination, it must have taken a lot of planning and strategic thinking to come up with that." Paul tried not to sound eager, but he was _very_ interested.

"It's simple young Paul. Do you remember in the Sinnoh League where your rival Ash used the attack Volt Tail?" Colress wondered. Paul thought back to that moment, the attack clear in his mind.

"Yeah, you don't have to remind me about that. Wait, so you got that idea from watching Ash in battle?" Paul was unable to speak, thinking that other trainers were able to take techniques from his rival and make it into a wonderful combination like no other.

"Yes, the combination of Volt Tackle and Iron Tail was simply marvelous; I had to try something similar. You should take some notes from your rival Paul. You never know what you'll learn along the way." Colress then turned his attention to the other trainers that were sitting down, ready for battle. "Who would like to go next against Beheeyem?"

"I would." Gary raised his hand, becoming interested in the scientist. Gary ventured to where Paul was standing, taking out a Pokéball. "Paul, you might want to get into the stands so that my Pokémon doesn't accidentally kill you." Paul heard the mockery in Gary's voice and was about to lunge for him until Brock led Paul to the stands. "I was wondering, since your Beheeyem is so strong, do you mind if I use two Pokémon that equal up to your Pokémon?"

"Not at all young researcher." Colress sounded open to the idea. He then turned his attention to the researcher looking to his sidekick in the stands.

"Eevee, come here." Gary motioned for the Pokémon. Gary went into his Pokédex to examine what kind of Pokémon he should use against Beheeyem. Finally, Gary put the Pokédex away, taking a Pokéball out of his pocket. "Umbreon! Let's go!" Gary threw the Pokéball, emitting Umbreon. Colress looked impressed seeing the Eevee and her Eeveelution standing in front of him.

"You own an Eevee and an Eeveelution? Impressive, young researcher." Colress looked to Gary.

"Yep, Eevee and Umbreon equal up to Beheeyem's HP level, meaning this will now be a fair fight. Besides, I was working on something that I think will be helpful in battles in the future." Gary smiled towards his Pokémon.

"All right then, I see you didn't hesitate to use a Pokémon that knows dark type moves, another weakness to psychic types." Colress examined Umbreon for the moment.

"Got that right!" Gary nodded his head, looking to Umbreon and Eevee who were in the midst of getting into a battle stance.

"Are you ready?" Colress motioned to the Pokémon researcher.

"Of course, Brock do you mind being the referee?" Gary looked to his friend with a smile.

"Sure, Gary." Brock nodded his head, turning his attention to the battle. "The battle between Gary Oak and Colress will now begin. The trainer with the last Pokémon standing is the winner. Let the battle begin!"

"Eevee, get on Umbreon's back and Umbreon use quick attack!" Gary commanded. Eevee quickly climbed on Umbreon's back, heading towards the Pokémon scientists' Beheeyem.

"Beheeyem, use Reflect." Colress countered. In a flash, Beheeyem covered itself with a protective bubble, hoping that Umbreon would land smack dab into the attack. Instead, Umbreon performed a flip in the air with Eevee holding on tightly, landing on his feet while Beheeyem's attack bubble vanished. "Impressive young Oak."

"You haven't seen anything yet!" Gary smirked, looking to Eevee. "Umbreon, use Shadow Ball but Eevee, then use Ice Beam on the ball!" Umbreon quickly unleashed a Shadow Ball as Eevee unleashed her ice beam attack, turning the shadow ball turn into a dark cloud. Everyone in the stands looked interested at Gary's combination.

"Does Gary think this is a contest battle?" Zoey chuckled.

"He thinks he's battling in a contest? Why?" Paul looked over to Zoey, his eyebrow arching.

"Because he's trying to impress Zoey, that's why." Max answered, a smile appearing on his face.

"But Zoey's already his girlfriend, why would he want to do that?" Paul still didn't understand.

"So that she'll fall more madly in love with him." May answered the clueless trainer, staring back out at the cloudy mess on the battlefield.

"Hmm, that was impressive Gary. Using Umbreon and Eevee to create a smoke cloud with Ice Beam and Shadow Ball was impressive. I didn't know that Eevee could use Ice Beam." Colress continued to stare at Eevee with interest.

"She also knows how to use any attack from her Eeveelutions. I knew when my grandpa gave me her, she was special." Gary looked over to his Pokémon, ready to attack once again.

"Beheeyem, keep your eyes peeled. I don't want you getting distracted with Gary and his Pokémon." Colress explained.

"This is the perfect time to attack, Eevee use dig! Umbreon, use Quick Attack!" As Eevee began to dig underground, Umbreon started to run towards the Psychic Pokémon, looking unfazed as it ran through the thick smoke.

"Beheeyem, Zen Headbutt on Umbreon." Colress realized that he had made a deadly mistake only focusing on Umbreon for the moment. For the moment, he forgot that Eevee was still underground, and she was getting ready to attack at any moment.

"Umbreon! Move out of the way! Eevee, NOW!" Gary countered. Umbreon dodged Beheeyem within a millisecond and the next moment later, Eevee came out from the ground and hit Beheeyem, sending the psychic Pokémon flying across the battlefield. Eevee ran over to her partner, staring at the Beheeyem. After a moment of wondering if Beheeyem was going to get up, the Pokémon collapsed with dark circles in its eyes.

"Beheeyem is unable to battle which means Eevee and Umbreon are the winners and the victor is Gary!" Brock pointed in Gary's direction, seeing Eevee and Umbreon running towards him with a smile.

"Good job guys." Gary patted Umbreon and Eevee's head before turning his attention to Colress. "That was a great battle. Thanks a lot."

"No, thank _you_ Gary. You taught me some things that not even I knew." Colress let out a grin to the Pokémon researcher. "That combination with Ice Beam and Shadow Ball was simply amazing."

"So who gets to battle you next?" Irene asked, almost impatiently.

"Unfortunately, Beheeyem was the only Pokémon I brought with me on the ship so I'm afraid I won't be able to battle the rest of you right now." Colress apologized.

"That's okay." May understood. "Maybe we can battle later?"

"Later sounds splendid." Colress nodded his head, turning his attention to Irene. "But once we get to Sinnoh unfortunately, were going to have to go our separate ways again."

"What? But why?" Irene sounded shocked.

"Because my work is calling for me. That's why." Colress explained. "Besides, you've done alright without me having to be there before. What make this time so special?"

"Dad, you're always leaving to do more work on Pokémon. Don't you even care that you're always leaving me?" Irene sounded heartbroken.

"Irene, you have to understand that my job is important, and I can't just leave my job at the drop of a hat because you miss me. Besides, how would we pay the bills if I wasn't working?" Colress tried to explain to his daughter, but he saw the disappointment in her eyes.

"Fine, I get it." Irene didn't turn back to her father, but the man was about to leave the room.

"Thank you Gary and Paul for such entertaining battles. But now I must go." Colress opened the door and just like that—he left. Zoey placed a hand on Irene's shoulder, hoping that she was all right but Irene simply shrugged it off, heading out the door of the battle arena while the others stared at their friend in worry.

"Poor Irene." Gary sympathized. Paul simply stared at his Pokédex, trying to figure out how he was going to get such an upgrade. He needed to be more informed on the Unova Pokémon as well. Maybe he could talk to Ash or Gary about an upgrade, they'd be glad to help him. Paul slowly walked over to Gary, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, I need you to do me a favor." Paul mentioned to the Pokémon researcher.

"Sure, what is it?" Gary questioned.

"I need an upgrade to my Pokédex. I don't have any of the Unova Pokémon in it and I need in the future against Pokémon that I don't recognize." Paul simply explained.

"Sure, come to my room and I'll get you an upgrade." Gary answered with a smile. Paul simply nodded his head to say thanks as Gary led him out of the room. Paul continued to stare at the Pokémon researcher, following him to get the upgrade to his Pokédex. Along the way, Gary and Paul noticed Cilan walking towards them. Paul's eyebrow arched and disgust waved through his body. He needed to find a way to tell Gary and the others that Cilan was the third triad, but it was going to be difficult with him here.

"So how are you liking this cruise?" Cilan looked towards Gary and Paul with a smile that Paul was sure was fake.

"Just great. Just remember that it's not all for leisure. We have to focus on how to find the first crystal." Gary warned Cilan.

"Oh don't worry Gary; I plan to make sure that we find it. I won't let this team down." Cilan assured the researcher before walking off but noticing that Paul's glance was following him. Cilan tried to brush it off but he bumped into Irene along the way, something that startled the both of them.

"Something wrong?" Cilan quickly composed himself as Irene started to walk away.

"Um, yeah. Everything's fine." Irene quickly added while she ran off with May and Zoey watching from the distance. Irene started to walk past Gary and Paul but Paul knew he had to tell Irene that she was right—as much as it pained him.

"Irene, can I talk to you for a minute?" Paul tried to be polite.

"I thought I was getting you a Pokédex upgrade." Gary interjected before Irene could answer.

"Then you can come too. Come on." Paul started to lead Gary and Irene to Gary's bunk, closing the door behind him. Gary's Eevee sat on the bed, watching Paul run his hands through his hair.

"Before we start, can I ask a question?" Irene raised her hand as if she was in school.

"Oh brother, yes Irene what is it?" Paul sounded a bit impatient.

"Is purple your natural hair color?" Irene probed. Paul growled while turning away, not sure why she was so interested in him all of a sudden.

"No, I just wanted to have purple hair." Paul sarcastically answered, but Irene completely missed the mockery.

"So you do dye your hair." Irene sounded animated. Paul was about to flick Irene when Gary decided to stop the both of them from fighting.

"Do you want to tell us what's the matter Paul?" Gary asked.

"Yes, remember when Irene said that she thought Cilan was a Shadow Triad?" Paul wondered.

"And then you said it was dumb to think that? Yeah, I remember." Paul walked past Irene, ignoring her words before turning back to the both of them.

"It turns out that Cilan is the Shadow Triad." Paul noticed Gary almost dropping his Pokédex, prompting Gary to stop it from hitting the ground. "Dude, be careful with that thing." Paul scolded.

"Sorry." Gary apologized while recollecting his thoughts. "So are you sure that Cilan is the Shadow Triad?"

"Of course, you see when we were back at the Pokémon Center, Misty, Max and I went through Cilan's room just so we could tell Irene that she was wrong and paranoid. But the more we went looking through his things, we noticed that Cilan had the mask, he had the outfit and it was green. He was the third triad and he had been traveling with us the whole time." Paul noticed Gary's eyes go wide while Irene stood up from her chair.

"I told you that I was right." Irene pointed to Paul, beaming with pride.

"Not sure why you're so happy right now." Paul deflated Irene's mood. "There's a problem. We're traveling with Cilan and he could double-cross Ash at any moment."

"That's right, Ash doesn't know about Cilan being the Shadow Triad." Gary finally understood where Paul was coming from. "Then why don't we go and tell him?"

"Are you crazy?" Paul tried to keep his voice from going above a whisper, but found it harder to do so. "If we tell Ash then he's going to think that I'm lying to him and I'm just saying that because I'm jealous of Cilan."

"But you're not jealous of Cilan." Irene pointed out.

"And why would he think that you're making it up?" Gary asked.

"Because Ash and I don't exactly have the best track record, if you know what I mean." Paul folded his arms while letting out a sigh. "I'm worried that Cilan's going to hurt him."

"So you do care about Ash." Irene slightly teased. Paul would have denied it, but by the look on his face, he knew that maybe what Irene was saying was the truth. Maybe he _did_ care about Ash. Not as a rival—but as a friend.

"All right, so how are we going to stop Cilan?" Gary questioned.

"Give me a moment, I'm thinking that through." Paul rubbed his chin thoughtfully, still trying to find how he was going to protect Ash from his _friend_.

"Well in the meantime, how do we protect Ash?" Irene became serious.

"We just have to keep an eye on Cilan." Paul suggested. "If he does anything out of the ordinary then we have to be there to stop him."

"That sounds like a plan to me." Gary agreed.

"All right." Irene added. Gary handed Paul his Pokédex with a grin, finishing the upgrade moments later.

"There you go Paul. Now you don't have to make me rush into the room every time you need to look up a Pokémon." Paul took the Pokédex from Gary, placing it in his pocket.

"Thanks." Paul nodded his head. He then turned to Irene with interest. "How did you know Colress?"

"He's my father." Irene explained. "But the problem is that he's always so busy with work that I never get to spend any time with him."

"Yeah, I kind of understand how you feel." Paul tried to sympathize. "You feel like someone is devoting their work into something so much that when you want to spend time with them, it seems almost impossible with all the work they're doing."

"Exactly my point. And sometimes it makes me feel like I'm not wanted, at all." Irene looked down to the trainer.

"Eh, don't worry about it. That's tough love right there. I'm sure your dad still cares about you." Hearing those words come out of Paul's mouth stunned Gary. He had never heard Paul give any advice before with a voice that didn't sound like he was being sarcastic or mean. It seemed like he really knew where Irene was coming from. Irene walked to the door of the room and opened it, looking down to the ground before turning back to Paul.

"Thanks for the advice Paul." Irene let out a small smile, and then turned to leave.

"You're welcome." Paul called out after her. Misty entered the room as Irene was leaving, looking over to Paul and Gary.

"Hey, what was that about?" Misty pointed towards Irene. Paul and Gary looked to one another, then back to Misty. Paul knew that Misty was bound to find out at some point.

"Um, you might want to come in and sit down." Paul told the Pokémon gym leader.

"And while you're at it, you also might want to close the door." Gary pointed towards the door. Misty closed the door before sitting down in the chair that was in front of Paul. Paul tried to look at Misty, his face turning solemn.

"Does this have to do with the Shadow Triad and Cilan?" Misty questioned.

"Yeah, it sort of does." Paul nodded his head. "I need you to do me a favor. I need you to make sure that no one gets hurt around Cilan—and that includes Irene."

"Does Cilan know that Irene was the one that thought he was the Triad?" Misty questioned.

"Um, no not yet." Paul admitted. "But there's something you guys might want to know. Cilan knows that _I_ know about him." Gary and Misty's eyes widened at Paul.

"So does that mean that he wants to hurt you?" Misty got up from the chair, placing a hand on Paul's shoulder.

"I don't know, but if he finds out that Irene was the one with the suspicion then that won't stop him from trying to attack her. She's a threat to taint his reputation and as far as Ash and Dawn know, Cilan is still the sweet, nice Pokémon Connoisseur that they first met in Unova." Paul explained.

"So Ash and Dawn _still_ don't know, even though everyone else knows the truth?" Misty questioned. "Someone has to tell them and also Cynthia and Alder!"

"If we are going to tell Cynthia and Alder then we have to be careful, there's no telling what Cilan can do." Paul placed a hand on Misty's shoulder, trying to assure her that everything was going to be fine. Misty felt her cheeks redden while looking at Paul, something that Gary noticed while sitting on the bed.

"I know you two lovebirds are trying to have a romantic moment, but maybe we should tell Cynthia and Alder about what's happening with Cilan." Gary snapped them out of their thoughts. Paul quickly nodded his head and started to go to the door, leaving the room in haste. "You know, the funny thing is that Paul didn't even deny that he was your lovebird."

"You sound like your sister." Misty chuckled, walking out of the room. Gary thought for the moment, still wondering what Misty meant by that. Was he really just like his sister, the same girl that was trying her hardest to outdo Gary in everything that they did?

* * *

In an empty room of the boat, the red and blue shadow triad sat in one of the rooms, waiting for their green comrade and their boss to come and tell them a status report. The door opened slightly with Cilan and Colress entering the room, closing the door behind them.

"Brother's, it's good to see you." Cilan let out a slight chuckle, staring at the figures ahead. The two triads took off their wigs and their masks revealing themselves to be—none other than Cilan's brothers Cress and Chili! Colress let out a slight grin, instructing the teenage triads to sit down.

"Let's get a progress report to see how we're doing." Colress looked to the boys with a grin. "So Cilan, is anyone suspecting anything?"

"There's one problem." Cilan sat in the chair, looking at the scientist. "That jerk Paul knows that I'm the missing triad, and I was hearing their conversation through their room door today—it was your daughter that knew that I was the triad! Even before everyone else."

"Irene was always very observant." Colress thought to himself but recollected his thoughts. "You need to find some way to distract them. Ash Ketchum is the key to finding those gems and unlocking the Electric Project which will make Team Plasma the supreme ruler of the Pokémon world. You need to find a way to keep Paul and Irene quiet."

"Um, there's a problem with that." Cilan sheepishly said. "It's an issue to keep Paul quiet. I can easily keep Irene quiet, but Paul is another story. Nothing scares him."

"Nothing?" Colress sounded impressed.

"Nothing. He's very stubborn and he shows no emotion whatsoever." Cilan shrugged his shoulders, looking to his brothers.

"Is there anyone that Paul is particularly fond of?" Colress wondered.

"What about that gym leader the one from Kanto?" Cress piped up. "I noticed that he has _some_ feelings for her."

"Is this true?" Colress turned to Cilan.

"I mean, they hang out together and the gym leader seems to be fond of him." Cilan began to sound unsure.

"Then I think we found how we're going to keep young _Paul_ quiet." Colress stood up from the chair heading towards the door.

"I just have one question?" Cress rose his hand in the air.

"What is it Cress?" Colress turned back to the triad.

"Aren't you worried that Irene is just as involved in this as Ash or anyone else is?" Cress worried.

"I am worried about that Cress. Whatever you do make sure that you don't hurt Irene. I don't need you three to put her in any more danger. She's already in quite a lot of trouble just befriending that _champion_ and his friends." Colress seethed thinking about Ash.

"So what do you want us to do now?" Chili questioned.

"Keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Colress once again went to the door. "As for me, I'm going to make sure that a certain champion gets a birthday present—to _die_ for." Colress closed the door leaving the three Shadow Triads in the room, all of them staring to one another.

"So what are we going to do about the others?" Cress wondered.

"We have to follow orders. Ghetsis and Colress are expecting us to take the three crystals so they can be the supreme rulers." Chili answered but Cilan and Cress looked a little torn about the whole ordeal.

"I don't know if we should do this." Cilan finally said after hesitating for a moment. "I mean, we don't want to hurt Irene…"

"Knock it off Cilan." Chili snapped to his brother. "Stop getting soft. We agreed that the plan was you weren't going to get caught up with friendship. You only assisted Ash through Unova to see his battle style, what's his weakness and what's his strength. Now that you've done that you can cut the friendship out and pay your loyalty to Ghetsis. After all, he _was_ the one that brought us back to life ten years ago." Cilan remembered that day well, the day that he and his brother's died—and the day Ghetsis brought them to life only to be under the loyalty of Team Plasma for as long as they all lived.

"I know, but…" Cress interrupted for a moment but Chili gave his other brother a glare.

"We're not going back on our word. It's too late in the game for that." Chili walked to the door. "Cilan, get back there and convince Paul and Irene to keep quiet, no matter what it takes. And Cress, we all know that you have feelings for Irene, but you need to get rid of those emotions. She doesn't love you back."

"That's a lie!" Cress yelled back to his brother.

"It's the truth and you know it! We are to pay our loyalty to Team Plasma and the both of you are thinking about being traitors! If Ghetsis only knew."

"We're not going to turn back our loyalty on Team Plasma." Cress defended himself.

"We'd never do that after all that they had done for us." Cilan added.

"Then stop living in some fantasy world and get back to reality." Chili crossed his arms. "Team Plasma is the only family we need. All those other people out there aren't our friends. Remember that. Now, like I said Cilan. Keep an eye on those brats especially Ash, Irene, Paul, Dawn and Gary."

"Why all those people?" Cilan questioned.

"Gary knows extensive research about the Electric Project, Paul and Irene will tell anyone about who you really are and Ash and Dawn are still clueless about your real nature for joining their team." Chili sounded almost impatient. Cilan turned his attention to his brother who started to leave the room once again.

"And what are _you_ going to be doing?" Cilan looked to the red triad.

"I'm going to make things interesting for them in the meantime while they locate the first crystal for us." Chili opened the door and slammed it shut, leaving Cilan and Cress in the room.

"Are we really going to have to hurt them?" Cress sounded a bit unsure.

"We don't have a choice." Cilan stared at the door where Chili vacated moments before. "Our loyalty is to Team Plasma—even if it means tricking the ones that we care about the most."

* * *

**A/N: Looks like Irene's father is hiding a secret life from his daughter! What will ultimately happen to Irene when she finds out Colress's secret. What's Dawn's surprise for Ash for his birthday? Will Paul be able to handle the pressure from Cilan now that Team Plasma sees Paul as a threat? And will Cress and Cilan ultimately become forced to choose their loyalties. All this and more coming up on _Pokémon: The Electric Project!_**


	15. Uncovering The Truth

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, they met Irene's father Colress who eagerly battled both Paul and Gary with a Pokémon that came all the way from the Sinnoh region. After the battle, Colress is discovered to work for Team Plasma, aiding the three Shadow Triads in what to do next in their plan to find the fire crystal. Paul confides in Irene and Gary that Cilan is the third Shadow Triad, but finds it hard to tell Ash that he knows the truth. Will secrets become uncovered or will things become more complicated? Read to find out!**

* * *

Paul stared out at the ocean as the ship headed towards Sinnoh, and he couldn't help but wonder if he should tell Ash the truth about Cilan. After all, Cilan was only with the group to obtain information for Team Plasma, but what if Ash thought that the idea was too ludicrous that it could have possibly been a lie? Paul was knocked out of his thoughts when Azurill jumped on the railing giving Paul a warm smile. Paul looked taken aback for a moment, but then realized that the Pokémon belonged to none other than Misty. Paul turned his head to see Misty looking out at the railing as well, a small smile on her face.

"How did I know I'd find you here?" Misty grinned.

"Because there's not a lot of places to hide on this boat, that's why." Paul shrugged his shoulders looking back out at the clear blue skies. It was early in the afternoon and while he continued to hear about how it was his rival's birthday, his mind was preoccupied on other things.

"All right Paul, spill." Misty's face turned serious. "Why are you so down in the dumps?"

"I'm not down in the dumps." Paul responded, his voice sounding more sharp that usual. He gave a quick apologetic look to Misty before turning back at the sky. "It's just that I was thinking about how Ash's feelings are going to get hurt when he finds out the third triad is none other than his good old buddy Cilan."

"I was thinking about that too." Misty admitted, her gaze fixating on the trainer. "I was thinking about how he's going to be crushed, but we all know that he's not going to believe us until we get some proof."

"Exactly my point." Paul sounded frustrated. "I wish there was some way that we could prove that Cilan is being a big jerk about all this and that his actions could ultimately kill someone." Misty tapped her chin thoughtfully for the moment while a smile crept on her face.

"Well, until then we still have to celebrate his birthday. It'd only be fair." Misty started to head towards the cabin. "I heard Irene and May were going to make Ash cupcakes or something. I was going to go along and see how they were doing. Why don't you come along and help?"

"Me? Bake cupcakes? For Ash? I don't think so." Paul scoffed looking at the sky. Misty's face saddened a bit, turning her head away from Paul.

"All right then, but we'll be in the kitchen if you need us." Azurill followed Misty's lead as the two of them headed to find the other girls. Paul continued to stare at the sky, unsure of what his problem was. The truth? He wanted to help the girls in the kitchen. Once again, he let his pride get in the way and because of that, he wasn't going to have any fun—or hang out with Misty.

* * *

Gary continued to stare at the computer screen, staring at Daisy's research from the Electric Project while Eevee curled up beside him on the bed. Gary figured they would be in Sinnoh soon, probably by the morning. That was then when they could figure out where to find the first crystal. In the meantime, Gary was scratching Eevee on her head while staring at a screen full of information. Gary heard the door knock, seeing that Daisy was standing there, almost as if it were awkward that she were in the same room as her brother.

"Is it okay that I come in?" Daisy examined. Gary looked at her as if he was trying to decode her.

"Well, you're already in here. If I didn't want you in here, I would have kicked you out already." Gary turned back to the computer screen, staring at the data. Daisy sat down in the chair that was across from her brother, still feeling awkward about everything.

"I'm sorry." Daisy abruptly spat out, causing her younger brother to look up from the computer, raising his eyebrow in misperception.

"What did you just say?" Gary was unsure if he heard correctly. Did Daisy just come in his room and apologize? That wasn't how Daisy usually rolled. She was always trying to outdo him and now she was humbling herself?

"I said I was sorry, Gary." Daisy repeated as if she wasn't proud of saying how she felt. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"But you did." Gary pointed out, turning his eyes to the computer. Daisy walked over and closed the laptop in order to get Gary's attention. "What was that for?!"

"I'm trying to reach out to you and you're ignoring me!" Daisy shouted. Gary stared in his sisters' eyes, thinking for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"Fine, what did you want to talk about?" Gary crossed his arms, staring at his older sister.

"I thought about all you said to me the other day and you know what? You're right." Daisy put her head down in defeat. "You're always trying to discover something or do something to make others notice you but instead I come along doing the same thing and everyone notices me because I'm the eldest. However, you deserve recognition. So I'm sorry about everything Gary, okay? You know what you're doing and I'm a newbie at this. It's my fault that we're in this mess." Daisy started to head to the door, feeling as if she had told her brother everything that was on her mind, until—

"Daisy, don't go." Gary put the laptop to the side in order to get up from his position. He walked over to his sister letting out a sigh. "It's not your fault that we're in this mess. That's what happens with us scientists. Sometimes we don't know if our stuff is going to fall into the wrong hands, but we have to remember that we have the power to think it through, so that means we have the power to stop whatever conflicts come our way. We hold the key to figuring things out. Sure, people like Ash and Paul and Brock are powerful because they're good at the physical stuff. But it takes a brain like ours in order to piece it all together and really understand the true meaning of everything. Does that make sense?" Daisy thought about Gary's words for a moment, a smile flashing on her face.

"Since when did you get so smart?" Daisy slightly kidded. Gary couldn't help but reciprocate the smile.

"Besides, maybe I was a little bit jealous of you." Gary confessed.

"You, jealous of me?" Daisy pointed to herself.

"Don't sound flattered." Gary chuckled, giving Daisy a slight nudge on her arm. Gary's smile widened, staring at his sister for the first time in a while no longer looking hostile. "Well, I understand. You're the first born Oak…so everyone expects something from you. I just wanted someone to recognize me once in a while."

"Gary…" Daisy placed a hand on her brother's shoulder, her smile broadening towards him. "I am so proud of you. I really am. All the effort you put in your work inspires me. It makes me want to work hard like you."

"You're just saying that." Gary slowly looked away before his eyes met his sisters.

"No, I'm not. You're amazing. The research you do with grandpa is what inspired me to go after the Electric Project." Daisy admitted.

"Really?" Gary's eyes enlarged towards Daisy. "It's because of me you're doing all this work?"

"Really." Daisy started to head towards the entrance, giving her brother a pleased smile before closing the door. "You deserve some credit, Gary. You really don't know how good you are." Gary thought about Daisy's words for a moment, turning his attention to Eevee who was currently sitting on the bed.

"What do you think?" Gary wondered aloud. "Do you think I'm good enough?" Eevee got off the bed and walked over to her trainer, nudging him on his leg.

"Eevee." Eevee assured her trainer. Gary felt slightly better about hearing his sister reveal how she actually looked up to him. Gary felt his smile expand, turning back to the laptop in order to open it again.

"Well, being a researcher doesn't stop here." Gary turned back to his Pokémon. "We have to figure out the origins of Irene's bracelet and why Team Plasma and Team Electric are after it."

* * *

"So is everyone ready to bake birthday cupcakes?!" Irene exclaimed, looking over to Misty, May and Zoey in the kitchen. Cynthia was able to let the girls get access to the ship's kitchen in order to bring some cheer in a grim time, so the girls weren't wasting any time in trying to make it the best birthday for Ash as possible.

"I am!" May raised her hand in the air with excitement. Along with Irene and May, Misty and Zoey decided to accompany them. Although Misty and Irene had their differences, they both had to admit that Ash was their friend and they were doing all this for him.

"Let's get started." Misty grabbed some pans, placing them on the counter. The door opened to the kitchen, the girls staring towards the entrance with curiosity. They were told they had the room to themselves for the next hour or so—so who was trying to come in and possibly spoil their good time? Irene and Misty's eyes widened at the sight before them.

"P…PAUL?" Irene and Misty questioned in unison. Paul turned his head towards the girls who were behind the counter.

"I was invited here by Misty. I hope it's okay." Paul simply stated, crossing his arms.

"You want to help us?" Irene's eyebrow arched at Paul's statement.

"I'm here to help _Misty_. Not sure about the rest of you." Paul walked to the counter, seeing Misty face with a smile on her face. Paul felt his face redden, reciprocating the grin. Irene, May and Zoey crossed their arms with a smug expression appearing on their face. They were almost sure that they had seen a soft side to Paul—and the only one that could bring it out of him is Misty.

"Well, instead of you two lovebirds flirting with one another, how about we make these cupcakes." May suggested. Misty and Paul quickly nodded their heads, their faces still reddened from their earlier encounter. Paul walked over to the fridge to get the eggs that the others were missing—when Irene popped up from right behind him.

"I knew it." Irene caught the trainer off guard, causing him to almost drop the eggs on the ground. Paul emitted a groan, turning to the young coordinator.

"What do you want now?" Paul's tone sounded harsh.

"I knew that you had a crush on Misty." Irene looked over to the gym leader, seeing her involved in a conversation with May.

"I don't have a crush on Misty." Paul tried to convince the coordinator, but the more times he said it the more times it felt as if it was nothing but a lie.

"You do like her Paul, I can tell." Irene shrugged her shoulders, letting him know that his façade wasn't working.

"So, let's say I did like her, hypothetically." Paul continued to stare at Misty before turning his attention to Irene. "What would you suggest that I do?"

"You have to be honest with her." Irene answered. "Misty likes you and you like her, so stop making it so complicated and get with her already. She seems to be the only one that can make you not want to be a sourpuss all day." Paul considered Irene's logic, realizing that maybe she was right. Paul did feel like he could lighten up around Misty and even felt himself becoming a happier person. Maybe the key to him not being so uptight all the time was Misty.

"Well, remember. This conversation was hypothetical." Paul tried to straighten it out. "I don't have a crush on Misty and I don't like her."

"And I think you do like her." Irene started to walk over to the girls. "But that's just me. You seem to have an issue with trying to let your feelings become known." Paul stood there dumfounded by Irene's words, taking them all in. Maybe she was right. Maybe he did like Misty. But he was going to have to get some reasonable advice to be sure.

* * *

"Dawn! Slow down! Where are you taking me?!" Ash yelled to Dawn who was currently pulling him by his arm.

"It's a surprise. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Dawn was beginning to become impatient since Ash had asked the same question multiple times in the past five minutes.

"I'll just keep asking." Ash shrugged his shoulders, still being dragged by Dawn.

"Well hold on a moment." Dawn stopped pulling Ash, looking over to him with a smile. "All right, now close your eyes and follow me."

"You want me to close my eyes?" Ash raised his eyebrow.

"Do. It." Dawn sounded impatient. Ash quickly closed his eyes as Dawn intertwined her hand with his, pulling him along. Dawn finally stopped pulling him, turning to face him. "All right silly. Now you can open your eyes." Ash slowly opened his eyes, looking amazed at the scene that was before him. A table was set in front of them, roses and a fancy meal that left Ash amazed.

"Dawn, you did all this for me?" Ash turned his head, seeing Dawn with a smile on her face.

"Yes, I did. I know that you've been thinking a lot about Team Plasma and Team Electric lately so I wanted to ease your mind a bit." Dawn led Ash to the nearby table, allowing him to sit down. Ash's smile turned wide towards his girlfriend, touched by her actions.

"Honestly, this is the best thing you've ever done." Ash placed his hand on Dawn's. "Thank you."

"Well, you do deserve it, birthday boy." Ash noticed that Dawn looked as if she had something else on her mind, something big.

"Hey, is everything okay?"

"What? Yeah, everything's fine." Dawn tried to reassure Ash. Ash raised his eyebrow, his smile disappearing.

"Dawn, I know you. When you get quiet, something is usually bothering you. What is it?" Dawn removed her hand from Ash's, looking down at her fumbling hands.

"Well, you know how we've been dating for almost two years right?" Dawn continued to stare at her hands.

"Yeah, and?" Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, remember when we were back in your house and we were talking about our relationship and stuff?" Dawn finally found herself to look into Ash's eyes. Ash had a clueless expression on his face, unsure of where the conversation was heading.

"Um, yeah. And?" Ash continued to look oblivious. Before Dawn could get the words out, she noticed a figure walking towards them. Of course, it was none other than Paul. Dawn's eyebrows furrowed, watching the rivals come face to face with one another.

"Ash, I need to talk to you." Paul stuffed his hands in his pockets. Ash looked from Paul to Dawn and back, unsure of what was going on.

"Paul, I don't know if you noticed but I'm a little busy here." Ash pointed to Dawn.

"Well, I have something really important to ask you, so if you don't mind." Paul sounded impatient. Ash looked to Dawn who nodded her head towards him. She was sure it was fine that he spoke to Paul for at least a moment.

"Go ahead, I'll be here waiting." Dawn said almost reluctantly. Ash got up from the table, planted a quick kiss on Dawn's cheek and headed off with Paul to another part of the ship, still unsure of what his rival wanted. Ash and Paul walked to the opposite end of the boat as Paul walked ahead of him, running his hands through his hair.

"Is there something wrong?" Ash looked to Paul, his helpful instincts kicking in.

"I think I have a problem." Paul turned back to Ash, his usual stern demeanor now a helpless one.

"Paul, did something happen?" Ash began to turn defensive. "Did someone upset you or bother you or…"

"Shut up and let me finish talking." Paul cut in, noticing Ash looking taken aback. "Sorry. It's just I need help with this problem and you were the only one I could think of talking to."

"All right." Ash shrugged his shoulders. "What's the problem?"

"The problem is that I'm feeling…feelings that I haven't exactly felt before." Paul rubbed the back of his neck, staring at Ash.

"What kind of feelings are you feeling, exactly?" Ash's face twisted in confusion.

"Well…what's that feeling where you feel like you just want to be with that one person and they make you smile and all that?" Paul felt himself fumbling over his words.

"You mean _love_?" Ash tried to coax the words out of Paul's mouth.

"I'm not sure what I'm feeling exactly." Paul leaned against the railing of the ship, feeling the wind run through his hair. "It's just that every time I hang around Misty…she makes me feel happy and I don't act as cruel or unusual around her. Is something wrong with me? Do you think I'm sick or something?"

"Nothing is wrong with you Paul." Ash chuckled shaking his head. "You have a crush on Misty."

"What?" Paul raised an eyebrow. "Me? Having a crush on Misty? I don't know about that."

"I think it's true Paul." Ash gave his rival a sly smile. "I think you like Misty. And I think you should go for it."

"What do you mean?" Paul wondered.

"You have to tell her how you feel. You think girlfriend's just land on your lap?" Ash's smile widened. "Obviously Gary and I had to have told Zoey and Dawn how we felt or else they wouldn't have liked us. You have to tell Misty."

"What if she doesn't feel the same way as I do? What if I tell her and my heart breaks in ten million pieces because she doesn't like me back." Paul's thoughts began to race.

"All right, how about I get Dawn to ask Misty if she likes you? That way you won't look crazy when you tell her how you feel." Ash suggested. Paul thought it over for a moment before nodding his head.

"You would do that for me?" Paul said after a moment of silence.

"Sure, why wouldn't I?" Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I'm not exactly the nicest person you know. And I've been pretty nasty to you." Paul sounded apologetic.

"Trust me Paul; there have been other people that have been nastier to me than you have. It's okay." Ash assured him. Paul continued to contemplate the situation before finally relenting.

"All right, if you think that it will help." Paul let out a sigh of defeat.

"I'm sure that it will work." Ash sounded determined. Paul turned away, hiding the small smile that was on his face from Ash. Maybe Ash was becoming more of a friend to Paul…but Paul wasn't being such a good friend for hiding the secret about Cilan. Paul then turned around, letting out a deep breath. He was going to tell Ash the truth. He had the right to know.

"There's something I have to tell you…something important that could put the Electric Project in jeopardy." Paul's face softened.

"What is it?" Ash suddenly became interested in what Paul had to say. Before Paul could let out the truth, Cilan appeared around Ash and Paul with a smile on his face, a smile Paul was sure was phony. "Cilan, hey what's going on?"

"I knew I would find you two here." Cilan's smile enlarged, putting an arm around both Ash and Paul. Cilan tightened his grip around Paul's shoulder, causing the trainer to become uncomfortable. Cilan _knew_ that Paul was going to tell Ash. "Can I borrow Paul for a moment? I know you don't want to keep Dawn waiting since she did plan a big birthday lunch for you Ash." Paul's face turned to a scowl towards the unknown triad as Ash pulled away from Cilan.

"You're right." Ash then turned his attention to Paul, not wanting to ignore him. "Was there something that you wanted to say about the Electric Project, Paul?" Paul looked to Cilan and Ash before shaking his head.

"You…just might want to check with Gary to see if we're right on course. We wouldn't want the crystal to get into the wrong hands." Paul found himself tangled up in yet another lie. Ash nodded his head, leaving Paul and Cilan in order to spend what was left of lunch with Dawn. Once Ash was out of their sight, Cilan shoved Paul into the railing of the ship, a grimace appearing on his face.

"What were you going to tell Ash?" Cilan's voice sounded deadly. Paul looked unafraid as he looked at the triad.

"I was going to tell him that you were a triad." Paul looked away from Cilan as if what he said was nothing.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" Cilan became frustrated at the fact that nothing scared Paul.

"Because I'm just not." Paul stared Cilan in the eyes, a scowl appearing on his face. "Ash is going to find out what a fraud you are, and what are you going to do then?"

"Ash isn't going to find out that I'm a fraud, and do you know why?" Cilan jabbed Paul in the ribs with force, causing the trainer to let out a yelp in pain. "Because you're not going to tell him. If you tell him then I will make your life a living hell."

"You don't know anything about me, so what do you plan on doing to make my life a living hell?" Paul somewhat taunted, surprising Cilan that he recuperated quickly from the pain.

"I overheard your conversation with Ash just a few moments ago." Cilan's smile curved into an evil grin. "I know that you're in love with Misty…and you would _hate_ that Misty got hurt because you were trying to be a hero, right?" For the first time since Cilan appeared, Paul looked frightened, causing the green triad to cackle slightly.

"You wouldn't…" Paul tried to hide the fear, but it was no use. Cilan figured out what Paul was afraid of.

"I would, so you better watch out if I were you Paul. You wouldn't want Misty to get hurt or _worse_." Cilan kneed Paul in the stomach, causing the trainer to fall down in pain while Cilan looked at him. "Be careful Paul. I'm always watching." And with that, Cilan left while Paul stared out at him, trying to avoid the fact that he was in pain. He had to confide in someone with what was going on—but at what cost if Cilan was planning to hurt everyone around him?

* * *

"You want me to what?" Dawn sounded incredulous as she and Ash walked to Gary's cabin after having lunch.

"I want you to ask Misty if she likes Paul." Ash repeated for the three millionth time. Ever since Ash told Dawn what the conversation was between the rivals, Dawn had been shocked. Not with the fact that Paul had a thing for Misty, but more or so of the fact that Ash wanted Dawn to ask Misty if she felt the same way about Paul. Last time Dawn had checked, Paul and Ash were rivals. Why would two rivals help each other out?

"But I still don't get it? Why did you say yes to Paul's request? Don't you hate his guts?" Dawn continued to sound shocked.

"I don't hate him…especially after seeing how evil a rival could really be." Ash slightly grimaced as he spoke.

"You're talking about Trip, aren't you?" Dawn put a hand on Ash's shoulder, giving him a comforting look.

"After winning the Unova League and seeing the jealousy that could possess a person, I kind of wished that I hadn't won. Maybe if I didn't win then none of this would have happened. Maybe it would have been better if I didn't even enter the league in the first place." Ash looked down. Ash didn't expect Dawn to use Ash's hat to cover his eyes while she furrowed her eyebrows. "Hey! What was that for?"

"To get you to stop talking crazy. Ash, you deserved to win the Unova League. You beat out the rest of them including Trip and that was your moment. Winning the Unova League isn't what started this. If Trip couldn't handle losing then it's his fault this all started, not yours." Dawn cupped her hands around Ash's cheeks just to make sure that he was looking at her. Ash adjusted his cap, staring into Dawn's eyes.

"You're right." Was all Ash said. Dawn placed her lips to his, engulfing him in a kiss that was full of passion. Ash broke the kiss for the moment, staring into her eyes. "Well, well. Not that I didn't like that but what was that about?"

"Just shut up and kiss me." Dawn simply stated pressing her lips to Ash's once more.

"I hate to interrupt your love fest but there's something I need to talk to you about." The voice behind them said. Ash and Dawn turned their heads to find none other than Gary with his arms crossed, one of his eyebrows arching.

"Stop being jealous Gary." Dawn teased. "You're just upset because Zoey isn't here to tell you how special you are."

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Gary sarcastically retorted before turning serious. "Apparently, there's been a sighting on the Shadow Triads on the ship."

"What?" Ash focused his attention to Gary.

"What do you mean the Shadow Triads are here?" Dawn's eyes widened at the information Gary gave.

"Yeah, someone saw them head into one of the rooms along with a scientist. The scientist, no one knows." Gary explained. "So if you see anything out of the ordinary then you better keep your eyes peeled. There's no telling what the triads could be up to."

"We still don't know who could be the green triad and frankly it's getting annoying." Ash rubbed the back of his neck, staring over at his childhood friend. Gary immediately became tense, feeling guilt that he knew a valuable piece of information that Ash didn't.

"Gary? Is something wrong?" Dawn looked over to Gary whose face became as pale as a ghost.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Gary shook it off after a moment, turning away from the couple. "I have to go and find Zoey. I'll see you both later." With that, Gary scurried away causing Ash to become suspicious.

"That was odd." Dawn stated.

"Yeah…" Ash mumbled to himself while staring at Gary. "That was odd."

* * *

For the rest of the afternoon, Paul had walked around the ship as if he was in a state of fear. Every corner he turned, everywhere he went, he felt that Cilan could have been there preventing him from telling Ash the truth. Paul had become something that he wouldn't have dreamed of becoming even if his brother Reggie had told him so—Paul was paranoid. Paul continued to stare around every corner; unsure if Cilan was there about to pop out at any moment. When Paul felt the coast was clear he started to head to his cabin.

"Paul?" A voice spoke behind, causing him to turn around in a defensive state. Paul noticed Misty staring at him, her eyebrow curved. "Paul, are you okay?" Paul slowly lowered his guard, nodding his head as if nothing was wrong.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Paul stuffed his hands in his pockets, eyeing the Cerulean gym leader. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Um, actually there was something I wanted." Misty walked over to Paul but as Misty got closer, Paul felt himself backing away from her. Misty stopped walking forward, placing her hands on her hips. "All right, what's wrong with you?"

"Huh? I'm fine." Paul lied.

"No you're not. Tell me what's wrong." Misty placed a hand on the trainer's shoulder, causing him to blush. He decided he might as well tell Misty what was going on—but what if Cilan was right behind him, about to strike? Paul couldn't risk having her being placed in danger. He would literally die if something happened to Misty.

"It's just…Gary and Ash told me some insane story. That's all." Paul tried his best to lie, but the more he did the more he felt guilt.

"And let me guess; now you're paranoid?" Misty emitted a chuckle, causing Paul to feebly let out a smile. "Well then Paul, you don't have to worry because I won't let anything happen to you." Paul knew what he said was a lie, but hearing Misty's words about his 'problem' made everything seem better. "So, I was heading to find Ash since the girls had a surprise for him. Do you want to come and find Ash with me?" Paul didn't have to think twice about accepting Misty's offer. He quickly pulled her by the arm, leading her down to the other side of the ship.

"I think he went this way." Paul didn't notice but Misty had a blush creep upon her face, seeing the way that Paul had held her arm while leading her to find Ash. She didn't want to admit it, but she was falling for the brooding trainer who seemed to have only cared about power—that was until he met her. A few moments later, Paul and Misty found Ash staring out at the ocean as the boat headed closer to the Sinnoh region, deep in thought. Paul knew something had to have been the matter, but allowed Misty to ask her longtime friend what was wrong.

"Ash, are you okay?" Misty piped up. Ash turned around, giving Misty a small smile before turning back to the ocean.

"I'm fine. I'm just thinking a lot of things through right now." Ash could easily see the Sinnoh port where the ship would dock, although it would take them some time to actually get there.

"Things like what?" Paul questioned.

"Do you guys ever wonder who could be the third triad?" Ash questioned, looking over to Misty and Paul.

"Oh, we don't have to wonder." Misty muttered. She then realized Ash still didn't know the truth, deciding maybe it was time to tell him. "There is something that we have to tell you." Misty's words prompted Ash to turn around once again, this time to stare at them.

"What is it?" Ash became suspicious.

"We have a feeling that we know who the third shadow triad could be." Misty started to tell. Paul quickly pulled Misty back, giving her a frown. Ash was oblivious to what Paul was doing and frankly so was Misty.

"Misty, um…there's something that we should talk about!" Paul turned to Ash who continued to look confused.

"And what is it?" Misty crossed her arms staring at the Pokémon trainer.

"Um…we need to talk about…" Paul didn't know what he was doing, and the next thing he knew he had pressed his lips to Misty's engulfing her in a kiss. Ash's eyes widened at the scene before him, realizing that he should give Paul and Misty some privacy. Ash wandered away, which gave Paul just enough time to remove his lips from Misty's…and enough time to run in case she wanted to chase him. Misty stared at Paul dumbfounded, unsure of why he decided to kiss her at that moment.

"Paul…why did you kiss me?" Misty pointed to her lips. Paul dawned on the realization that he had kissed Misty. He kissed Misty and she was utterly confused, meaning that she probably didn't feel the same way as he did.

"Um…that was a distraction." Paul looked around seeing that Ash was no longer in sight. "We can't tell Ash that Cilan is the Shadow Triad."

"And why can't we?" Misty still found her cheeks still a bright red from the kiss.

"Because if we do then Cilan is going to come after me and he'll kill me." Paul explained.

"Cilan said he was going to kill you?" Misty began to turn angry.

"Well no, he said that he was going to hurt _you_ if I told Ash." Paul admitted.

"Me? Why would he want to hurt me if you told Ash?" Misty became interested.

"Because he knows that's the only thing that's going to keep me quiet. If I tell Ash about Cilan, he'll come after you because—because he knows that I can't stand that." Misty finally understood what Paul was saying. In the midst of hearing about Cilan's plans, Paul inadvertently told Misty his feelings for her.

"So, the only thing that makes you weak is…me?" Misty pointed to herself.

"Pretty much." Paul kept a straight face, looking away from Misty. "Weren't we supposed to find Ash or something?"

"Paul…" Misty softly called to him. Paul turned his head once more and this time, Misty was standing close to him, close enough where their foreheads were touching.

"Misty, what are you doing?" Paul blankly asked.

"You do know you basically told me that you liked me, right?" Misty chuckled.

"I did?" Paul wanted to slap himself. That wasn't the plan at all. He wasn't supposed to let Misty know!

"You did. You know, you're a great trainer but just like Ash you're a horrible liar. I can see why you two are rivals." Misty chuckled. "You both are so alike but yet polar opposites that it's unbelievable."

"I'm nothing like him." Paul firmly stated.

"Yes you are. You're both determined, willing, you both have the same goal…and I think secretly you want to be Ash's friend." Misty was able to read Paul like a book, something that shocked him. No one was able to decipher him before, but now—it seemed like he wasn't as hard to crack as people would have guessed.

"Well…being a Pokémon master is pretty much Ash's job. I just wanted to win a league, something I haven't done." Paul sounded less confident after thinking of his accomplishments vs. Ash's.

"So Ash won the Unova League. Big deal. At least you competed in every league so far and tried your best. One day you will win a league, I can guarantee that." Misty softly said.

"Well, thanks for the words carrot top. I'll be sure to remember that." Misty and Paul exchanged a smile before leaning in and giving each other a soft kiss. The mystery behind whether they liked one another was over—but a new mystery was about to begin and neither of them knew just how dangerous it was going to be.

* * *

"So…were we able to keep Paul quiet?" Colress examined from far away, staring at Cilan, Chili and Cress.

"We were." Cilan nodded his head, a smirk forming on his lips.

"What's this…?" Colress continued to stare out into the open space. "It looks like Paul and that girl are…together." Colress spun around glaring at the three triads. "He's not going to hesitate to go after you if something happens to her! He'll be by her side 24/7. We need to think of a new plan."

"I have one." Chili raised his hand, staring over at Cress and Cilan. "What if we join those brats in trying to find the crystals? That way we can keep an eye on Irene and Paul just so they don't attempt to tell Ash what they know."

"I know just the way to keep Irene quiet." Colress paced back and forth, turning to the three triads. "She suspects Cilan, but she suspects neither you nor Cress. Here's what we're going to do. You're going to go down there and you're going to keep her busy. She can't tell Ash anything if you keep her in your sight at all times."

"But…that's what I just said…" Chili tried to point out, his voice deflated that Colress took his idea.

"I know, and _my_ idea was perfect." Colress refused to give Chili credit.

"Does that mean that we have to fall for her?" Cress raised his hand, unsure with the plot.

"Whatever you have to do to keep her away from Ash." Colress stared out to see Misty and Paul walking away, his eyebrows furrowing at the both of them. "In the meantime, someone has to keep them quiet and I'm guessing that someone is me."

"What are you going to do, especially to Ash?" Chili sounded almost excited with the plan.

"What I'm going to do to Ash? Oh, the surprise is almost ready." Colress chuckled slightly, turning his heads back to the triads. "Now get to work. We need to make sure that they are completely busy until we find the fire crystal. Once we find it can we continue our quest in finding the other two, prompting Team Plasma to becoming the leader of the Pokémon world."

"What about Team Electric? Even though Lucius is traveling with them, they still pose a threat as that kid Trip wants revenge on Ash for beating him in the Unova League." Cilan pointed out.

"Oh, don't worry Cilan. I'm sure Trip can be persuaded to join Team Plasma. After all, he's an incompetent naïve fool. If he can be persuaded to join Team Electric, then he can be persuaded to join Team Plasma. Just make sure that any other information you obtain you report it to Ghetsis. He's your commander from here on out." Colress explained.

"But sir, how can he be the commander of Team Plasma if you're…" Cress started to ask until Cilan and Chili slapped Cress on his shoulders.

"Ghetsis is the leader of Team Plasma…the _commanding _leader. Irene doesn't need to know my real job." Colress hissed. The three triads took that as their cue to go and do their jobs while Colress turned back around towards the sky. They would be heading into Sinnoh any day now—and that was when Colress along with the rest of Team Plasma would plan to attack. There was no way he was going to let some kid that won the Unova League trip over Team Plasma's plans for total world domination—not this time.

* * *

**A/N: Colress has a new plan up his sleeve-having Cress and Chili join Ash and his friends in order to get more information on the fire crystal! Will his plan succeed? Will Paul be able to tell Ash the truth about Cilan _without_ Misty getting hurt or will everything go completely wrong for then? Coming up on more _Pokémon: The Electric Project._**


	16. Will The Real Triad Please Stand Up?

**A/N: When we last left our heroes on their journey to the red fire crystal, Paul revealed his feelings towards Misty and found that they were reciprocated while Gary put his animosity towards Daisy in the past and forgave her. All didn't go quite well however when Colress and the Shadow Triads began to form a new plan in order to make sure our heroes didn't obtain the fire crystal. What will our heroes encounter in this chapter? Read on to find out!**

* * *

Misty and Paul made their way back to the ship kitchen hand in hand, blushing at one another every time they made eye contact. Misty secretly was glad that she was the only one that was able to bring out this side of Paul. She had a feeling that she liked him that night at the Pokémon Center when they were staring out at the stars, just goofing off like two normal teenagers. The thing about Misty was, she wasn't a normal teenager. She was the Cerulean City Gym leader and Paul was a roaming trainer. Paul wasn't known to stay in one place for too long and once they figured out how to stop Team Plasma and Team Electric, what was going to stop him from going back out there and striving towards his dream? Misty realized maybe getting into a relationship with Paul wasn't the best idea. She had to break it off, but she didn't want to break his heart. What was she going to do? They finally reached the kitchen door, Paul putting his free hand on the handle in order to open it, until Misty took his other hand off the handle in haste.

"Is something wrong?" Paul turned to Misty uncertain of why she just did what she did.

"Um, it's nothing really." Misty tried to play it off. Paul raised an eyebrow with suspicion before Misty let out a sigh. "I just don't think that we should tell the others about us just yet."

"What do you mean?" Paul's confusion replaced his suspicion.

"It's just that we don't want Irene to think that she was right the whole time. She'd never let us live it down." Misty tried to convince Paul. It turned out he was easier to convince when he was in love with someone.

"All right then." Paul let go of Misty's hand, standing in front of her. "So if we're going to pretend that nothing happened between us in front of Irene and the others, could I get one final kiss before we start pretending?" Misty noticed Paul's face twisting to a small smile as she let out a moan. One kiss wasn't going to hurt. Misty leaned up and kissed Paul on his cheek, scurrying away from him and entering the kitchen. "That wasn't what I meant!" Paul yelled back towards Misty, who simply let out a sly grin. Paul and Misty entered the kitchen, seeing Irene, Zoey and May sitting around waiting for the cupcakes to finish.

"Hey, where did you two run off to?" Irene slyly wondered. Misty turned to Irene, then to the other girls.

"We were talking about the Electric Project. Nothing new." Misty easily lied to her friends. Paul leaned against the wall, staring at Misty before realizing that Zoey was looking at him.

"Is something wrong?" Paul tried not to sound rude but found his tone a little harsh.

"Why do you keep staring at Misty?" Zoey let out a crafty smirk.

"Because…there was something I need to tell her but Irene over there is hogging her!" Paul continued to put up with the façade. Before anyone could say anything, the door swung open and Gary entered with Eevee in tow. Zoey's eyes brightened as her boyfriend walked over to the counter, beaming at her.

"So what's going on over here?" Gary tried to play it cool while Zoey simply giggled.

"We're baking cupcakes. Do you want to help?" Zoey leaned closer to Gary's face, noticing that his face was turning red.

"I'll leave that to you. My grandfather may have taught me Pokémon poetry, how to make tea and the history behind Pokémon but if there's one thing he couldn't teach me it was how to cook." Gary looked to the other girls, seeing them smiling towards him.

"Was there a reason that you came into the kitchen, Gary?" Misty joked with her old friend.

"I was just checking to see how you all were doing." Gary fixated his gaze on Zoey while speaking.

"And by all of us he meant Zoey." Irene laughed with Misty and May joining in.

"Stop making fun of him." Zoey lightheartedly told her friends. "It's not his fault he's a lovable fool."

"That's right." Gary nodded his head before realizing that Zoey called him a loveable _fool_. "Hey!"

"Oh, stop it. You're _my_ adorable loveable fool." Zoey cooed, planting a kiss on Gary's cheek.

"So now that you see that we're fine, now you can leave." Misty took the nearby towel and spiritedly threw it towards Gary.

"Fine, but if I have to leave then so does Paul." Gary pointed to the trainer.

"Fine, I'll leave." Paul shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing. He flashed a small smile to Misty before heading out the door. Gary looked over to the leaving trainer then back at Misty, crossing his arms with a gaze of suspicion.

"What's going on between you two?" Gary interrogated.

"Nothing. Why does everyone think that there's something wrong with Paul and I?" Misty shared Gary's gaze.

"It's just that he never smiles and all of a sudden he smiled at you." Gary deducted his reasoning.

"All right, bye Gary." Zoey pointed towards the door with a smile on her face. Gary looked to Misty then to Zoey shrugging his shoulders.

"Fine, I'll leave but as soon as I do, you'll be begging for me to come back." Gary gave Zoey a quick kiss before leaving the room and closing the door, causing the other girls to giggle towards Zoey.

"He is too much." Zoey looked to the oven, seeing that the cupcakes finished baking. "Now we can frost them!"

"First we have to let them cool down!" May instructed, noticing Zoey going for the oven.

"So, are you going to answer our question, Misty?" Irene finally asked. Misty turned her attention to Irene, unsure what she should do.

"About what?" Misty decided she was going to play dumb.

"About Paul. What's going on between the two of you?" Irene asked once again. Misty looked to her friends before exhaling. Should she tell them the truth?

"Well, there's nothing really to tell." Misty fumbled over her words a bit.

"So what happened?" Zoey pressed on.

"Well, nothing really happened but…" Misty noticed the girls leaning closer to her. _This is going to be hard to explain to Paul later._

* * *

"I don't know, something just seemed fishy about Paul and Misty together." Gary explained to Ash, Dawn and Daisy who were busy going over Daisy's information. "It was almost like they were together."

"Well, they could be." Ash pointed out. "Misty was going to tell me something but then Paul kissed her."

"Hold the phone!" Dawn dug her nails into Ash's shoulder causing the trainer to yell out in pain. Dawn quickly removed her hand from his shoulder, blushing furiously. "Sorry. But, Paul kissed Misty? And when were you going to tell us this Mr. Ketchum?!"

"I didn't think it was a big deal." Ash tried his best not to sound annoyed that his girlfriend dug her nails in his back. "Anyway, it's their business, not ours."

"But what if Paul does something to hurt her?" Gary pointed out.

"Please? What's Paul going to do to hurt Misty? He liked her. He told me so." Ash explained.

"I just don't like it." Gary crossed his arms, looking away.

"Look, just because your ex-girlfriend is dating my rival, it doesn't mean that you have the right to turn into 'Super Gary'. Whatever is going on with them is none of our business." Ash tried to put some reason into Gary.

"Gary dated Misty before?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, we dated before but we broke up and stayed friends. It was for the best." Gary answered Dawn's question. "She was busy being the gym leader of Cerulean City and I was just starting to learn how to be a Pokémon researcher."

"And then Gary had commitment issues." Ash kidded, causing Dawn and Daisy to stifle their chuckles.

"I did not have commitment issues." Gary gave Ash a glare before his face turned serious again. "Besides, I'm happy with Zoey."

"So why do you care about Paul and Misty?" Dawn wondered, causing the researcher to run his hands through his hair.

"Honestly, I don't know why I care." Gary admitted. "It's just that the last thing I want to see is Misty getting hurt."

"Misty's not going to get hurt." Ash sternly told his friend, hoping that this could have been the end of the conversation. "Now, can we focus on the Electric Project? We still have to locate the first crystal."

"Which I'm working on by observing Irene's bracelet." Daisy added on.

"So how is it going anyway?" Gary looked at the paper Daisy was reading.

"I hit a dead end. I don't know what this crystal on the bracelet has to do with the other three crystals other than it glows when the others come into contact."

"Don't worry Daisy; I'm sure that we'll figure this out." Dawn placed a hand on Daisy's shoulder, staring at the paper.

"There's something still bothering me though." Ash crossed his arms, staring at the Oak siblings and Dawn. "What do the Shadow Triads want with the crystal?"

"To give it to Ghetsis, I know that much." Gary answered.

"But we've only seen two thirds of the Shadow Triads." Daisy looked to Ash and Dawn. "We still don't know who the third one is." Gary tensed up, staring at Ash and Dawn. Daisy noticed her brother's sudden change in attitude. "Gary? What's wrong with you?"

"Yeah, you've been acting weird." Ash studied his friend. Gary looked from Dawn to Ash to Daisy looking defeated.

"I know who the third Shadow Triad is." Gary began to admit.

"Gary? You knew and you didn't tell us?!" Daisy sounded shocked that her brother knew the truth.

"Well, we can yell at him later. Who is the third triad?" Dawn crossed her arms. Gary looked to Ash, keeping his eyes on his childhood friend.

"Ash, you might want to sit down for this." Gary pointed to the nearby chair, causing Ash to become defensive.

"Please don't tell me it's you, Gary. Please." Ash shook his head towards his friend.

"What?!" Gary sounded stunned at Ash's accusation.

"As a matter of fact, he is…" A voice behind them spoke. Ash, Dawn and Daisy looked to find Cilan, giving Gary a chuckle. Gary didn't understand what was going on here. _Cilan_ was the triad, so why was he trying to make Ash believe otherwise?!

"Gary? It's you?" Dawn's eyes broadened towards her friend.

"No! Cilan is the triad! Not me!" Gary screamed. Ash looked over to Cilan then back at Gary, unsure of whom he should believe. "Ash, you've known me longer. I would never betray you and work for evil! Cilan's the one that has been deceiving you the whole time. We have proof!"

"Oh yeah, and what kind of proof do you have?" Ash's voice sounded emotionless.

"He has the mask and the wig and everything. It's hidden in his duffle bag!" Gary continued to stare at Cilan.

"Me? I don't think so." Cilan continued to pretend that he had no idea what was going on here.

"Hold on a moment." Daisy got up from her seat, looking from Gary to Cilan. "My brother wouldn't betray Ash like that. I don't know you very well to say otherwise. Maybe you two need to chill for a moment and think about what you're accusing each other of."

"But Cilan is the Shadow Triad. Everyone knows the truth, but Ash and Dawn." Gary furrowed his eyebrows towards Cilan.

"Gary. Do you have proof right now that Cilan is the triad?" Daisy crossed her arms towards her brother. Gary moved out of the way, heading towards Cilan's quarters. He opened the door in order to observe what was in the duffle bag. When Gary opened it to show the others what was in it—nothing. All the evidence that Paul, Misty and Max found the other day was gone!

"But it was right here!" Gary pointed inside the bag. Ash let out a sigh, turning to Cilan.

"And do you have proof that Gary could be the triad?" Cilan looked back to Ash, reciprocating the same sigh.

"No, unfortunately I do not. I'm sorry Gary. I was caught in the moment in trying to figure out who it could be the triad that I accused you. You know that it could be since you know so much information." Gary wasn't going to buy into Cilan's act.

"I know it's you Cilan. Stop lying to Ash and tell him!" Gary pointed towards Ash.

"Gary, I think that's enough." Daisy scolded. Gary couldn't believe it. No one believed him. No one believed that Cilan was the triad. Gary's face twisted in anger as he pushed past his sister, going out the door. "Gary."

"You're my _sister_ and you don't believe me. Some sister you are." Gary left the room, causing Daisy to look guilt ridden.

"Gary." Daisy followed her brother out of the room while Dawn kept her eyes on Cilan.

"Cilan? Why would Gary come out and accuse you of being the Shadow Triad? Gary has never done that before." Ash wondered what was on everyone's mind.

"You know Irene? Of course you do." Cilan looked away to avoid Dawn's gaze. "She probably told Zoey some insane story about how I was the triad and then she told Gary. You know how close Gary and Zoey are."

"So you think that it's just one big misunderstanding between you and everyone else?" Ash sounded hopeful.

"Of course, that's all it is." Cilan shrugged his shoulders. "I would never betray you Ash. You're my friend and I'd never do anything to hurt you. You know that right?" Ash thought for a moment, wondering what he should believe. After a moment of contemplating, Ash nodded his head.

"Right, I'm sure it's just one big misunderstanding." Ash started to head out of the cabin, turning back to Dawn. "Dawn, are you coming?" Dawn quickly followed Ash, not sure what was bugging her about Cilan at that moment. Ash and Dawn headed out of the room, noticing that the ship was about to dock in Snowpoint City, until Dawn realized that Gary's Eevee was staring at Cilan's room hoping for Cilan to come out.

"Do you mind if I go give Eevee back to Gary? She's just sitting there." Dawn pointed to the Pokémon.

"Fine, I'm going to go find Pikachu." Ash walked off, still thinking everything over. Dawn walked over to Eevee, leaning down to get to her eye level.

"Eevee? Is what Gary saying the truth? Is Cilan really the Shadow triad?" Dawn wondered. Eevee looked in both directions, making sure that no one was listening before nodding her head. Dawn turned back to Cilan who was leaving his cabin, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Dawn, what are you and Gary's Pokémon doing here?" Cilan walked over to them.

"I was just going to go and give Eevee back to Gary. He left her here, isn't that right Eevee?" Dawn scooped Eevee up in her arms, walking the opposite direction that Cilan was heading. She needed to talk to someone about this. She needed to speak with Cynthia.

* * *

Five minutes later, Dawn sat down in one of the rooms staring at Cynthia, unsure if she should say anything. Dawn had asked to see Cynthia for a moment and now that she was here, she couldn't bring herself to ask if what everyone else thought was true. Cynthia sat down in the nearby chair, looking at the blue haired coordinator.

"You wanted to speak with me, Dawn?" Cynthia scratched behind Eevee's ears while Dawn thought for a moment.

"Everyone is saying that Cilan is the Shadow Triad and for some reason I'm beginning to believe that he is as well." Dawn admitted.

"What makes you believe that, Dawn?" Cynthia was wary of asking the question, afraid that Dawn would go to Ash with the information.

"The Pokémon seem wary around Cilan and Eevee knows that Cilan is the Shadow Triad. Apparently, Gary was right." Dawn looked to Cynthia, seeing that she was acting as wary as Gary was.

"It seems that you know about the Shadow Triads already." Cynthia looked away from the coordinator.

"Wait, so everyone else _knew_ and Ash and I were in the dark about this?" Dawn's voice was mixed with shock and anger.

"Dawn, you have to understand that we're trying to protect Ash and besides, he wasn't going to believe us unless we had proof." Cynthia tried to reason.

"You're the champion of the Sinnoh League!" Dawn stood up with Eevee jumping off her lap. "The last thing you should be doing is keeping secrets from people! You're supposed to protect people but instead all you're doing is putting Ash in harm's way! His friend is the Shadow Triad and eventually Cilan is going to backstab him!"

"Dawn, it's more complicated than that." Cynthia tried to reason. Dawn couldn't believe what she was hearing. What could have been so complicated about telling Ash the truth?

"So you expect me to just sit around and let Ash get taken advantage of by Cilan?!" Dawn shook her head unbelievingly.

"Dawn, we're dealing with a very dangerous criminal and it's best for us to pretend that we don't know what's going on." Cynthia sternly said.

"I don't know about you, but I am _not_ going to lie to my boyfriend." Dawn started to head out the door with Eevee following.

"Dawn, this is putting everyone in danger if you tell Ash." Cynthia tried to reason. Dawn turned her head, clenching her fists.

"I never thought that the champion of the Sinnoh region would be telling me to keep a secret from Ash. A secret that could ultimately get him killed if Cilan eventually gets his way! I'm almost _ashamed_ to actually be born in the same place as our champion, now that I know she's such a _coward!"_ Dawn headed out the door, slamming it right behind her feeling tears stream down her cheeks. Dawn covered her hands over her eyes, sobbing uncontrollably while Eevee placed a comforting hand on Dawn's leg.

"Eevee…" Eevee continued to stare at Dawn, hesitant if she should do something.

"Dawn?" A voice said from behind them. Eevee and Dawn quickly turned their heads, seeing Paul looking concerned. He usually wouldn't have cared about Dawn if she was angry but he had never actually seen Dawn _cry_.

"What do you want?" Dawn wiped the tears from her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Paul questioned, placing a hand on Dawn's shoulder. Dawn had never seen Paul act in such a caring manner. He usually ignored her or sometimes made fun of her. Dawn decided to take advantage of the situation in order to get information about the Shadow Triads.

"Is it true that Cilan is the Shadow Triad, and don't lie to me. I've heard enough lies for one day." Dawn crossed her arms, staring at Paul. Paul considered whether he should tell Dawn until he nodded his head looking down.

"Yeah, he is." Paul admitted. Dawn looked away from Paul, feeling the tears come to her eyes once again.

"Ash doesn't know. What if Cilan hurts him?" Dawn became upset.

"Cilan isn't going to hurt him, all right? We're going to stop him no matter what. I'm not going to let Cilan get his way and hurt Ash. I promise." Paul assured the coordinator. Dawn felt a small smile creep on her face, staring as if Paul was a completely different person.

"What happened? It seemed that you completely changed." Dawn softly said. Paul would have normally snapped but seeing Dawn in her fragile state gave him a small change in heart.

"Well, I have to admit you and Ash sort of grew on me." Paul shrugged his shoulder a smile appearing on his face. Dawn looked towards Paul and the next thing she knew; she engulfed him in a comforting hug. Paul raised his eyebrows but slowly relented, comforting her by hugging her back.

"Dawn?! Paul?!" A voice that both of them knew all too well rung out. Dawn and Paul turned their heads to see Ash standing there with Pikachu on his shoulders. "What are you two doing?"

"Dawn was crying so I was comforting her." Paul simply stated.

"Since when are you comforting?" Ash sounded harsh. Paul got up from his position, slowly walking away from the scene.

"We're in Sinnoh already. We should get the others." Paul avoided Ash's question and headed off to find the girls. Ash continued to stare out at his rival before turning his attention to his girlfriend.

"Paul said you were crying. Are you all right?" Ash walked over to Dawn, placing a hand on her shoulder. Dawn looked to Ash, finding it hard to look him in his brown eyes.

"I'm fine. But you have to know something…Gary's not the Shadow Triad like Cilan said." Ash's concerned expression diminished, his face turning to stone.

"I know Gary isn't the Shadow Triad. He's my friend. Why would Gary do something like that?" Ash noticed Dawn looking down, unsure if she should say anything. "Is something going on Dawn?"

"What? Nothing." Dawn couldn't bear to look at Ash any longer, finding herself walking away slowly from him. Ash began to wonder what was going on between them. Dawn was acting a bit different and somewhat secretive. Dawn wasn't cheating on him with Paul now was she? They were acting different before Ash came along. Ash began to wonder if his suspicions were getting the best of him—but he had to think of it as a possibility.

* * *

Dawn continued to find the others in order to tell them the ship was docking in Snowpoint City until she bumped into her father. Dawn stared at Lucius, noticing that his usually harsh face became softened after seeing Dawn's face red form tears. Lucius and Dawn continued to stare at one another, not saying anything until Lucius decided to break the ice.

"Dawn, is something the matter?" Lucius questioned. Dawn became wary, unsure if she should tell Lucius what was going through her mind.

"You wouldn't understand." Was all Dawn said. Dawn tried to walk past Lucius but for some reason he wouldn't let her. "Can you do me a favor and get out of my way!"

"I just want to know what's bothering you." Lucius simply stated.

"You may be my father but you are most certainly not my dad." Dawn hissed towards the man. Lucius continued to stare at Dawn, a smile appearing on his face as if he was recollecting a memory.

"You remind me of me when I was your age." Lucius thought aloud.

"I am _nothing_ like you." Dawn huffed, turning away from Lucius.

"Are you sure about that Dawn?" Lucius chuckled. "I think you are just like me in more ways than you can imagine."

"I wouldn't want to be you anyway, so why don't you just leave me alone." Dawn started to walk off but Lucius placed a hand on her shoulder. Dawn growled, turning back to the man almost in a raging frenzy. "Leave me alone or else I will hurt you."

"Dawn, does this have to do with the Shadow Triad and the third one?" Lucius questioned. Dawn slowly became less defensive, staring at him as if she wanted more information.

"Don't tell me that you know too." Dawn sighed.

"I know that the Shadow Triads are the triplets from Unova. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out." Lucius said. Dawn leaned against the railing staring at Lucius as if she was trying to decode his actions.

"So why is it taking Ash so long to figure it out?" Dawn wondered.

"It's simple." Lucius said. "Cilan is Ash's friend. Ash doesn't suspect anyone that's his friends. It's always the ones that are his enemy first."

"How did you know that about him?" Dawn spoke in awe.

"Like I told you back at Team Electric's headquarters, I had been keeping an eye on you. That also means that I have been keeping an eye on Ash as well since he's always around you." Lucius answered, staring at his daughter. "You know, you look just like your mother."

"Don't think that compliment is going to flatter me." Dawn felt herself become defensive once again, but then lowered her guard as a sly grin appeared on her face. "But for the record, mom is prettier than me. After all, she has style and she has grace."

"Yes, from competing in Pokémon contests. How could I forget that?" Lucius chuckled, thinking back to the love of his life's passion. "I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I didn't join Team Electric. Would your mother still love me if I didn't, or would she have let me leave regardless?"

"I'm sure mom only wanted you to leave due to your decisions." Dawn suddenly felt herself comforting her father, although she wasn't sure why. "Maybe you should talk to her."

"You want me to talk to your mother? Oh I don't know about that." Lucius shook his head but Dawn continued to insist.

"At least let her know that you still think about her." Dawn softly said. "She has the right to know. Anyway, I have to go and get the girls so we can get off the ferry. And like Cynthia said…we shouldn't tell Ash about this."

"But Ash is only going to get hurt." Lucius called out to his daughter. "Dawn, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Dawn once again stopped in her tracks, turning towards Lucius.

"What?" Dawn wondered.

"Do you love Ash?" Lucius asked. Dawn didn't even have to think twice about the answer.

"Of course I do!" Dawn nodded her head to Lucius. "He's my best friend and I can always count on him for anything."

"Then if you can, then you might as well tell him. He'll believe you since he knows you would never lie to him." Dawn contemplated Lucius's words for a moment, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't lie to him—but if we're going to tell him about Cilan then we're going to need proof." Dawn headed to the kitchen, not looking back at her father. There was something else on Dawn's mind, but she needed the help of the girls for this one.

* * *

"They're ready!" Irene held the tray of cupcakes with a smile. Zoey, Misty and May couldn't help but reciprocate the smile, thinking about how thrilled Ash was going to be when he got his birthday surprise.

"These look really yummy." Zoey wanted to eat one on the spot, but remembered that they were for Ash and if anyone was going to have the first one it should have been him.

"Let's go and find Ash so we can bring him these." Misty agreed. The door opened to the kitchen, revealing Dawn as the other girls gave her a warm friendly smile. Seeing how antsy Dawn was being, she had something on her mind causing the girls to become concerned for their friend.

"Dawn? Is something the matter?" May wondered. Dawn sat down on one of the stools staring at the cupcakes.

"Are those for Ash?" Dawn probed.

"They sure are." Misty held out the tray for Dawn to take one. Dawn looked as if she was having a rough day, and a cupcake was just the thing she needed to feel better. Dawn took one but merely observed it, as if the treat wasn't meant to be devoured.

"Dawn?" Irene walked over to her friend, sitting down on one of the stools next to her. "Is something the matter?"

"There's actually two something's that are bothering me." Dawn admitted, staring at her friends. "First off, I know who the Shadow Triad is."

"You do?!" Misty sounded dumbfounded. "What did Paul say to you?"

"Paul just told me it was Cilan. It was funny. Gary _also_ said that it was Cilan but Cilan tried to frame Gary for being the triad. I don't know, I had an odd afternoon." Dawn shook it out of her thoughts.

"Why would Cilan try to frame it on Gary?" Zoey became distressed.

"I'm guessing because Gary knows so much information that it could be vital to the Electric Project." Misty answered. "Gary was always good at figuring things out."

"And since Gary was doing non-stop information on the project, he would have been the perfect person to frame." May finished the thought.

"Gary's a sweetheart though." Zoey vouched for her boyfriend. "He would never do anything so stupid."

"We know he wouldn't Zoey." May placed a hand on Zoey's shoulder.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Dawn questioned.

"What do you mean?" The girls turned to Dawn, seeing that Dawn was torn on what to do.

"If I don't tell Ash then there's going to be a problem between us. However, if I do tell him he might not believe that it was Cilan since we don't have proof. Cilan already brainwashed him." Dawn began to feel flustered.

"Let's just ignore Cilan for now. He can't hurt us if we pretend that we don't know he's the triad." Zoey figured out a solution.

"You said that you had two problems, Dawn." Irene brought up. "What was the second one?" Dawn felt slightly embarrassed by the second problem she had. In truth, she wasn't sure if she should share this with her friends but in the end she knew she needed advice.

"This second problem also has to do with Ash." Dawn felt her cheeks turning red.

"What did he do?" Misty looked as if she was about to go and hunt Ash down.

"No, he didn't do anything." Dawn quickly diffused the situation. "I want to _give_ him something."

"What did you want to give him?" Zoey crossed her arms, unsure where Dawn was getting at. Dawn considered whether to tell the girls for a moment before relenting.

"When Ash and I were at his house, we were talking about our relationship. He said that he would be willing to take that next step if we were both ready." Dawn explained, feeling her cheeks turning redder and redder by the moment. "The thing is, _I'm _ready but I don't know if he is."

"I still don't get it." Irene scratched her head, staring at Dawn. "What is it that you want to give Ash exactly?" Dawn took a deep breath, staring at her friends.

"I want to give him _me_." Dawn admitted. The girls finally knew where Dawn was coming from. They knew that Dawn had Ash's heart emotionally but Dawn now wanted to make sure that she had his heart physically.

"Dawn, are you sure about this?" Misty peered over at her friend.

"I've never been surer of anything in my entire life." Dawn nodded her head quickly towards the girls.

"Well, if this is something that you want then you need to tell him. Surely, he'll understand and want you too." Irene advised her.

"As long as you're sure that Ash is the right person Dawn, then there should be nothing for you to worry about." Zoey closed her eyes with a smile creeping on her face as if she was recalling a memory.

"Were you in the same predicament too Zoey?" Dawn questioned. Zoey looked over to the girls, nodding her head slowly.

"That meant…you and Gary…" Dawn tried to ask one normal question but found herself in shock.

"It happened for the first time last year." Zoey still felt her cheeks redden while talking to the girls. "All I can say is, it was magical…and if Gary ever found out I told you guys, he'd kill me."

"No wonder you and Gary seem closer than ever." Dawn thought about it for a moment before smiling. "You really love him don't you?"

"Yeah, I do…but remember. I didn't tell you anything." Zoey smirked, walking away to get the remaining cupcakes.

"Oh, before I forget we're in Snowpoint City." Dawn tried to change the subject.

"Really?" Misty looked over to the other girls. "Well, you know what that means. Time to go and find the others." Dawn grimaced, getting up from her seat and taking a bite of the cupcake that the girls gave to her. As the girls exited the kitchen, they spotted Colress walking along towards the exit of the ferry.

"Dad?" Irene called out. Colress turned around to see the girls standing there, folding his arms with a small smile.

"Irene, I wasn't expecting to run into you. I thought you'd be busy with your friends." He motioned to the other girls.

"Dad, since we're in Snowpoint City why don't we go and visit mom?" Irene wondered, hoping that her father would say yes.

"As much as I would love to Irene…" Colress started to say until he saw the suspicious looks of the other girls. If he had said no, then they would have gotten an idea that he was hiding something. Colress took a deep breath, nodding his head to Irene's question. "Sure. Let's go visit your mother."

"Awesome! Then maybe we could have our battle?" Irene wondered.

"Sure, no problem." Colress quickly agreed, heading towards the exit. Irene followed right behind her father but the other girls stayed back for a moment observing Colress.

"Does anyone else besides me get a bad feeling about Colress?" Dawn wondered. Zoey looked to Dawn, not understanding what she meant.

"Colress is a complicated guy, Dawn." Zoey stated. "He's just really busy with work. Although I am interested in what he does."

"Let's go and find the boys." May told the others, walking ahead of them. "I haven't heard from Max all day."

"Let's go and find them." Misty agreed. The girls went off to see if they could find the boys so they could leave the ferry. To their surprise, the boys were waiting for them by the exit.

"It took you long enough." Max sounded impatient with his sister.

"Oh please. If only you knew what we were doing." May looked to the girls who giggled back.

"I'm never going to understand girls." Max turned around, heading off the ferry.

"Then maybe I should explain it to you." Brock followed Max in haste.

"Come on, let's get off of here. Living on a boat for a couple of days really makes you almost feel seasick." Dawn slightly jested, although when she turned her head she noticed Cilan, Ash and Gary not saying a word to one another. Dawn had to figure that Gary and Cilan were still mad at one another and she had a feeling Gary was just a little upset with Ash for not believing who the Shadow Triad was. Dawn shrugged her shoulders, turning to get off the boat before landing smack dab into Cynthia. Dawn rubbed her head, staring at the Sinnoh Champion. Dawn huffed and moved to the side, walking away from who once was her hero and now seemed like a traitor for not telling Ash the truth.

"Is Dawn okay?" Ash looked to Gary. Gary stared at out at Cynthia before realizing that Dawn knew the truth. Dawn knew what was going on.

"My guess is that she knows a little too much." Gary simply answered, walking ahead of his friend. Cilan overheard Ash and Gary speaking before his eyes narrowed over to Dawn. Someone was going to have to keep her from sticking her nose where it didn't belong—and that someone was going to have to be him.

* * *

The trainers found themselves at a pinkish house, just off the terminal for the ferry a few moments later. Brock and Zoey understood what was going on, but the others continued to stare in awe towards the house. This was nowhere near, where the fire crystal was supposed to be. The teenagers noticed Irene and Colress coming out of the house, with a woman that looked to be a few years younger than Colress was. The boys were expecting Brock to quickly run over to her and make his move—but it never happened.

"Brock? Are you okay?" Max suddenly worried about the Pokémon Doctor. Brock chuckled slightly, walking over to the woman before shaking her hand with a smile.

"Karissa, it's so great to see you again." Brock noticed the woman smiling back at him.

"And it's wonderful to see you again too Brock." Karissa returned the grin. Brock continued to shake her hand until—

_BAM!_

Brock found himself on the floor by none other than Croagunk. Zoey's eyes widened, walking over to Brock's Pokémon and crossing her arms.

"There was no need for that Croagunk." Zoey scolded the frog Pokémon. Croagunk stared at his trainer in pain, dragging him along the path as far away from Karissa as possible. "I'm so sorry Karissa. Croagunk thought Brock was flirting again."

"He's still at it I see?" Karissa couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Yep, still at it." Max spoke up, shaking his head towards his older companion who was currently getting up from the ground after the Poison Jab.

"Well, I'm sorry. Where are my manners?" Karissa looked to the group standing before her. "My name's Karissa and I'm Irene's mother."

"So that's why Irene knew to come here." Misty whispered to Paul who simply chuckled. "She wanted to see her mom."

"It's nice to meet you Karissa." May bowed towards the adult.

"Irene, when were you going to introduce me to your friends?" Karissa looked to her daughter.

"Oh, sorry. Mom, this is May, Max, Paul, Misty, Ash, Dawn, Gary, Daisy, Lucius and of course the Sinnoh and Unova Champions Cynthia and Alder." Irene pointed to each of her traveling companions. Irene then noticed Cilan standing by his lonesome, staring at Dawn as if she was the most precious thing in the vicinity. "Oh, and that's Cilan." Irene waved him off as If he was nothing.

"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu spoke out from Ash's shoulder.

"Eevee!" Eevee waved over to the top coordinator.

"It's very nice to meet all of you." Karissa sweetly said. She then turned to Colress, her smile diminishing and her face turning to anger. "And why are you here after not calling for almost 2 years! 2 years Colress!" The teenagers sheepishly looked at one another, backing away slowly from the situation.

"So I'm guessing your mom is still mad about your dad, huh?" Brock whispered, returning to the group.

"Mad doesn't even begin to describe it." Irene whispered back.

"Well, we should probably get going." Misty spoke aloud, bringing Karissa and Colress out of their argument.

"So soon?" Karissa sounded a bit sad.

"It's just that we're doing something important for the Champions." Irene pointed over to Cynthia and Alder.

"Is this so?" Karissa stared at the Champions with interest.

"Yes, unfortunately it's a top secret mission so there's not a lot of information to give out." Cynthia answered.

"But it's getting late." Karissa noticed the sun setting. "At least stay the night and then head out tomorrow." The teenagers couldn't argue with that logic. Cynthia and Alder thought about it for a moment, before deciding it would have been a good idea.

"All right then, if you don't mind." Cynthia tried not to pressure the woman.

"I don't mind at all. Come inside and get settled. As for Colress and Irene…" Karissa's expression once again was with fury. "We need to talk." Irene and Colress looked to the mother figure of their household, letting out a sigh of defeat.

"Yes Karissa/Mom." Colress and Irene spoke in unison. Karissa marched into the house with the others following her before Irene stopped her father.

"Can we have our battle soon? I want to show you what kind of trainer I've become." Irene insisted.

"After your mother has that talk with us." Colress promised. "Which I have a feeling won't take very long." Colress entered the house with Irene following.

* * *

Once inside the home, the teenagers looked around observing the photos on the wall. Zoey, May and Dawn looked impressed at the pictures of Karissa as the top coordinator, holding the Sinnoh, Hoenn and Kanto Grand Festival trophies. The girls turned back towards Karissa who was in a heated conversation with her family before turning back to the pictures.

"I can't believe that she's a top coordinator." May whispered.

"I have to agree." Zoey crossed her arms, staring at the photo. "She doesn't strike me as graceful, especially when she's angry or under pressure."

"I don't see it either." Dawn looked to the pictures, continuing to observe them. The girls didn't notice Paul waking behind them with his hands stuffed in his pockets, staring at the pictures. He didn't understand contests, but he knew it was something that the girls liked. He simply shrugged his shoulders, staring at Dawn.

"Obviously her mind frame had to have been different when she was competing." Paul's answer startled the girls, who turned their heads to the trainer.

"And how long were you standing there?" May felt herself becoming wary around Paul.

"Five seconds." Paul quickly answered, looking at the picture. "When you battle or are in a contest you have different thoughts going through your mind than when you're dealing with your family. Bring the outside problems to a contest or battle and you're not going to win."

"Gee, since when did you get so smart?" Dawn teased. Paul felt a smile appearing on his face, looking at the picture.

"It applies to everything you do. Don't bring outside problems on your mission. You won't be able to concentrate. Brandon taught me a thing or two about that." Dawn knew Paul was referring to Pyramid King Brandon who beat Paul in a six on six Pokémon battle a couple of years ago when Ash, Dawn and Brock were traveling through Sinnoh. "Maybe that's why Ash is able to keep his cool when battling. He doesn't bring his problems in a battle and is able to think more clearly."

"I'm sure you could do that too." Dawn motioned over to where Misty was before turning back to Paul. "Misty seems to be able to bring that side out of you. You like her, don't you?" Paul looked over to Zoey and May before turning his head back to Dawn.

"She's all right, I guess." Paul looked to Misty who was busy staring over at Gary combing Eevee's fur. "She's different, I'll give you that." Misty fixated her gaze to Paul, giving him a smile, which prompted Paul to smile back.

"What's going on here?" Irene came into the conversation. Paul scoffed towards Irene, looking away from her.

"Are you done being yelled at by your mommy?" Paul teased. Irene growled at Paul's comment, noticing that Zoey had placed a hand on her shoulder meaning that he wasn't worth her anger.

"So are you still going to have that battle with your dad?" Dawn wondered. Irene smiled but was knocked out of her bliss for the moment when the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that could be?" Irene noticed Cilan heading towards the front door, causing the girls to become tense. Dawn and Zoey looked to one another and back, but Paul walked ahead of the girls, following Cilan to the door. The door opened as Paul took a step back, getting a sickening feeling in his stomach. "Paul? Who's that?" Irene called out. Paul continued to stare at Cilan before fixating his gaze to the two other figures at the front door. They looked a lot like Cilan but they were wearing red and blue instead of Cilan's signature green.

"Paul, I'm glad you're here." Cilan said, almost sounding eerily calm. "These are my brothers Chili and Cress…they've heard so much about you and they're _dying_ to get to know you."

* * *

**A/N: Chili and Cress have arrived at Irene's home in order to keep an eye on our heroes. Will our heroes figure out the truth about the Shadow Triads? How will Colress and Irene's battle pan out? How will Ash find out the truth about Cilan being the triad? All these questions and more will be answered, coming up on_Pokémon: The Electric Project! _**


	17. A Present To Die For

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, Dawn figured out the truth behind Cilan being the Shadow Triad but felt conflicted in keeping it a secret from Ash. Meanwhile, our heroes end up in the Sinnoh Region and meet Irene's mother Karissa who lets the group spend the night. Things take a turn for the worst when Chili and Cress appear at Irene's doorstep, leaving our heroes feeling threatened. What will become of our heroes in this chapter? Read on to find out!**

* * *

Paul continued to stare out at the door, unable to move. He had completely ignored Irene's question, looking over at the brothers that were related to none other than the green triad. Paul felt himself tense up at the situation. If Paul couldn't trust Cilan, then what made him think he could trust Chili and Cress? Ash walked to the door, standing next to Paul, wanting to know why he completely froze. When seeing Chili and Cress, Ash's face turned into a wide grin.

"Chili! Cress!" Ash ran over to high five the brothers. Paul sneered over at Cilan but in return Cilan gave Paul a satisfied smirk. _This has to be part of some plan of his, _Paul thought to himself.

"Ash, it's great to see you again." Chili smiled to the trainer. "We saw you win the Unova League against Trip. You were fantastic man."

"You saw that?" Ash found himself blushing. Pikachu patted Ash on the top of his head while beaming. "Well, it was really Pikachu's victory. He was able to defeat Serperior."

"But do you honestly think that Pikachu could have called his own moves in order to defeat Trip?" Cress crossed his arms, smiling over to Ash.

"He could have." Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed with Ash. Paul coughed aloud, causing everyone to turn towards him.

"I'm glad I have everyone's attention." Paul spoke in a sardonic tone. "Now, if we can all get inside. You're letting a draft in."

"Don't mind if we do, Paul." Cress and Chili took off their jackets, throwing them at the trainer. "I'm sure you don't mind hanging these up now do you? Of course you don't." Chili, Cress and Cilan walked past Paul, rage boiling through the trainer's body. Misty quickly walked over to Paul, taking the jackets from him while giving him a sympathetic look.

"Are you okay?" Misty wondered. Paul let out a sigh, looking over to Chili and Cress.

"I don't know if I can trust them." Paul disclosed. Misty took a hold of Paul's hand, staring out at the brothers of the triad as well.

"You know what Paul? Don't worry. I don't trust them either." Misty and Paul continued to stare at Chili and Cress, but what Paul didn't know was that Gary was staring at him—and Gary wasn't liking what he was seeing.

* * *

"So, where have you been all this time?" The group took their conversation outside while Karissa gladly made dinner for the teenagers. Chili and Cress looked to one another, smiling back at the team.

"We were traveling around, wondering where our brother Cilan was." Cress pointed to their brother. Everyone excluding Ash began to tense up a bit, something Ash observed.

"Is everything okay?" Ash traversed his arms, staring over at his friends.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Paul quickly spoke, not wanting Ash to get any erroneous ideas.

"Oh, okay then." Ash sounded a bit wary but let it go when he turned his heads back to Cress and Chili. "It's great to see you guys again. How long are you going to be around?"

"For a while." Cress answered. Chili glared at his brother, causing Cress to get the message. "Right, we're going to be here for a while…with Cilan…you know." Cress and Chili focused their attention on Irene, seeing that she was still staring at their brother with interest. She may have known that Cilan was keeping secrets, but she didn't know that the brothers were in on the plot as well.

"Well, I'm glad that you're here." Irene looked to both Cress and Chili, seeing the brothers flashing a smile towards her.

"We're glad that we're here too Irene." Cress noticed Irene's face reddening as she turned away. Chili felt a pang of anger rush through his stomach at his brother's interaction…but maybe it wasn't anger. Maybe it was _jealousy_. The teenagers turned their heads to Colress who was exiting the house to enter the backyard, staring at Irene with a grin.

"So who's ready to battle me?" Colress speculated. Irene shot her hand in the air.

"So what are the rules of the battle?" Irene enquired.

"How about a three on three battle?" Colress proposed.

"A three on three?" Irene looked down at the Pokéball's that were in her pouch, looking a bit hesitant. "I never really battled three on three before."

"It's simple. Trainer that knocks out all three of the opponent's Pokémon first, wins." Paul explained in a monotone voice. He honestly didn't understand how Irene could have been a trainer if she didn't understand how to battle with more than one Pokémon.

"Oh, sounds easy enough." Irene ignored Paul's monotone countenance, becoming motivated.

"All right, who would like to be the referee for the battle?" Colress looked to the other teenagers.

"I think that the referee should be Gary." Zoey recommended. Gary looked over to Zoey, seeing her flash a warm grin towards him.

"I agree." Brock added.

"Well Gary. What do you say?" Colress asked the Pokémon researcher. Gary gave it a thought for a moment, but he didn't need much more convincing after staring down at Eevee and seeing her nod her head towards him.

"All right, I'll be the referee." Gary grinned.

"Sounds great." Colress led Irene to a large patch of grass for their battle. "Are you ready Irene?"

"I'm ready." Irene nodded her head, intent on showing her father what a great trainer she had become since he last saw her.

"The three on three Pokémon battle between Colress and Irene will now begin. The battlers may substitute their Pokémon. The trainer with the most Pokémon at the end of the battle is the winner." Gary yelled the rules. Irene and Colress each took out a Pokéball, hoping on making the right choice for the first round. "Call out your Pokémon and begin!"

"Magnezone! I choose you!" Colress threw the Pokéball to the middle of the field, a Magnezone appearing before their eyes.

"A Magnezone?" Dawn went into her pocket to take out the Pokédex, searching the metal Pokémon.

"**Magnezone, the Magnet Area Pokémon. It evolves from Magneton in certain magnetic areas, and emits energy from each of its three magnets.**" The Pokédex said.

"Altaria! I choose you!" Irene threw her Pokéball, revealing the dragon Pokémon.

"Wow, that Altaria is beautiful!" Max couldn't help but contain his excitement.

"Yeah, that is a pretty Pokémon." May agreed.

"Let me guess Dawn. You've never seen an Altaria before, have you?" Paul kidded, seeing Dawn contemplating whether she should look up the Pokémon or not.

"Have _you_ seen an Altaria before, Paul?" Ash crossed his arms, glowering at his rival. Paul elevated an eyebrow towards Ash, putting his attention back to the battlefield. Ash turned his attention to Dawn, seeing she was still interested in the Pokémon. "If you want to search Altaria, it's fine." Dawn took that as an okay, looking the Pokémon up in her Pokédex.

"**Altaria, the Humming Pokémon and the evolved form of Swablu. As Altaria flies across the sky, it resembles a soft cloud. It hums using its high voice.**"

"Are we done with the Pokémon lessons for today, or are we going to battle?" Gary engrossed his attention to Dawn.

"Sorry." Dawn put the Pokédex away, seeing Gary turning his head back towards Colress and Irene.

"Begin the battle." Gary told both sides.

"This should be fun." Colress looked to Altaria. "Magnezone, let's start off with a Thunderbolt." Magnezone started to charge up its energy, electricity coursing all through its body.

"Altaria, dodge it!" Irene instructed. Altaria started to fly up into the air, hoping to dodge the attack.

"Follow that Altaria and then use Thunderbolt." Colress told his Pokémon. Magnezone levitated off the ground, following the Altaria everywhere it went on the battlefield. Altaria tried to shake it but Magnezone was just too fast. Magnezone was able to lead Altaria to a pair of trees, seeing the Pokémon was stuck and there was nowhere to go. Magnezone charged up its energy once again, emitting a powerful Thunderbolt from its body—hitting the Altaria in one hit.

"Altaria!" Irene yelled.

"You have a lot to learn about Pokémon my dear child." Colress let out a chortle. "Magnezone, use tackle!"

"Altaria, get out of the way." Irene screamed to her Pokémon. Altaria attempted to move out of the way from the Magnezone but once again, the magnet Pokémon proved too fast for the dragon Pokémon, tackling it and sending it to the ground. "Altaria!" Altaria appeared roughed up from the battle with Magnezone, attempting to get up from the ground with a weak demeanor. Knowing that Altaria was too feeble to fly back up, Colress used the opportunity to finish the battle.

"Magnezone, use Earthquake!" Colress shouted. Magnezone went on the ground and started shaking it, causing the dragon Pokémon to brace itself. The attack was strong, a little too strong for Altaria, causing the Pokémon to fly in the air from the impact and landing on the opposite side of the battleground.

"Altaria!" Irene ran over to the Pokémon, but alas, Altaria had been knocked out from the battle.

"Altaria is unable to battle. Magnezone wins." Gary pointed towards the electric type Pokémon. Irene took out her Pokéball, sending the Pokémon back.

"Thanks for trying Altaria." Irene turned her head to the battle, taking another Pokéball out of her holster. "Cinccino! I choose you!" Irene threw the Pokéball to the battlefield, showing the chinchilla Pokémon.

"This should be a good battle." Zoey said from the sidelines.

"Hmm…" Paul said almost aloud, causing everyone to turn to him.

"Is something wrong?" Misty asked him. Paul intersected his arms, raising his eyebrow towards the gym leader.

"Something tells me this battle isn't going to end well for Irene." Paul simply stated, looking back to the action on the field.

"Well, Irene we don't have all day." Colress shouted. Irene looked to her father then back at her Pokémon, noticing that they were both a bit impatient.

"All right Cinccino! Let's start with Aqua Tail!" Irene pointed to the battlefield.

"Magnezone, Thunderbolt." Colress crisscrossed his arms with a satisfied smirk. Cinccino started to gear up for the Aqua Tail, but Magnezone's Thunder attack emitted first, hitting the chinchilla Pokémon with full force. Cinccino landed on the ground, quickly knocked out from the battle, causing the other trainers to stare at Magnezone in awe. That Pokémon was strong—a little _too_ strong for Irene's liking.

"Cinccino is unable to battle. Magnezone wins." Gary feebly pointed to Colress.

"You only have one more Pokémon, Irene. You need to make it count." Colress told his daughter. Irene went into her Pokéball holster, taking out her final Pokéball of the battle. She had to at least knock out Magnezone. She could have had that small victory if she did.

"Flygon, I choose you!" Irene threw the Pokéball to the center of the field, revealing another dragon type Pokémon. Irene turned to Dawn who still had the Pokédex in her hand. "You can check it if you want." Dawn took that as an excuse to check Flygon's description.

"**Flygon, the Mystic Pokémon. Flygon is the evolved form of Vibrava. It's known as the desert spirit because of the song-like voice that emanates from the sandstorms it kicks up."**

"Are you ready for the battle?" Irene smirked, but before she could get an attack out, Colress went for his Pokéball, aiming it towards Magnezone.

"Magnezone, return." In a flash, Magnezone was back in its Pokéball, and Colress was going to bring in a new Pokémon. "Klinklang, let's go!" A Pokémon that seemed to look like many gears, appeared before Irene, turning her head to Cinccino, who simply stared back at her while shrugging her shoulders.

"Klinklang?" Irene went into her bag to take out her Pokédex in order to get information on the gear Pokémon.

"**Klinklang, the Gear Pokémon and the final evolved form of Klink. Klinklang uses its spikes to fire charged energy into its environment, using its red core as an energy tank.**"

"I had never seen that Pokémon before." Misty sounded stunned.

"They're all over Unova. It's not quite a secret about where they come from." Chili couldn't help but answer.

"They're rare in Sinnoh…along with everywhere else." Paul harshly retorted back to the brother. "So stop trying to make her seem like she's stupid for never seeing one."

"Did you just _defend_ Misty, Paul?" Zoey became dumbfounded. Gary overheard them speaking as he turned around to see Paul folding his arms and staring at the brothers of the green shadow triad.

"I did, so what?" Paul didn't see what all the fuss was about.

"Can we get back to the battle, please?" Gary sounded irate. Everyone turned their heads towards Gary, but instead the Pokémon researcher turned his back to them, observing the battle between Colress and Irene.

"This match-up is not going to work out well for Irene." Paul repeated what he had said minutes before.

"And what makes you think that?" Dawn became interested.

"Scan them both in your Pokédex and check out their weaknesses." Paul answered. Dawn did as Paul suggested, understanding his position as to why he thought Irene would lose the match.

"That Pokémon's not weak to Dragon type Pokémon." Dawn concluded.

"Which means it's a bad match-up for Irene. Flygon won't be able to get much damage vs. Klinklang, which means the only way that Irene can beat Klinklang is if she uses a Fire Type, a Ground type or a Fighting type."

"Flygon's part Flying Type. That could help, right?." May observed.

"Klinklang is resistant to flying types as well. Dawn, since you scanned Irene's Flygon, what are the attacks it can make?' Paul asked.

"**Flygon can use the following attacks: Dragon Breath, Dragon Tail, Dragon Claw and Quick Attack**." The Pokédex answered.

"Meaning it's a huge type disadvantage." Brock understood Paul's lecture.

"Irene's going to have to think of a way to outsmart Klinklang. She can't change Pokémon since Cinccino and Altaria had been knocked out so if Flygon gets knocked out then, that's it." Paul said.

"There's also one other thing." Ash looked over Dawn's shoulder, observing the comparison between the two Pokémon. "Klinklang is 20 levels higher than Flygon. One hit of any attack and Flygon's going down."

"All right Flygon, are you ready?" Irene looked to her Pokémon.

"How about since this is your last Pokémon, you make the first move." Colress suggested.

"Are you sure?" Irene raised her eyebrow towards her father.

"I'm sure." Colress nodded his head. Irene took that as an advantage, looking over to Flygon with determination.

"All right, Flygon use Dragon Breath!" Irene pointed to Klinklang. Flygon quickly charged towards Klinklang, emitting a powerful dragon breath that clouded the entire battlefield. Gary felt something wasn't right here with the whole attack. That was when he knew. Colress let Irene go first since he knew that the attack was going to be Dragon Breath, meaning that it would give him a chance in order to attack in the dragon mist!

"Klinklang, use Zap Cannon." Colress quickly countered. Irene's expression twisted into confusion, before realization dawned on her. There was a reason for the attack! The Zap Cannon attack, hit Flygon directly—making it a critical hit. Flygon flew down to the ground with a gigantic crash, everyone standing up in order to look to see if Flygon made it through the battle. In the end, Flygon's eyes had swirls in its eyes by one attack of Klinklang, making it what had to be one of the quickest three on three Pokémon battles any of the trainers have ever seen.

"Flygon is unable to battle, Klinklang wins, meaning the winner of the three on three Pokémon battle is Colress." Gary pointed towards the scientist. Irene ran over to her Flygon, making sure that the Pokémon was okay. She had never seen anything like it before—her father able to take down her Pokémon with the quickest of margins.

"That was a refreshing battle, Irene." Colress told his daughter. Irene simply looked down to the ground, staring at the Pokémon that was in discomfort. Brock walked over to Flygon, taking it in his hands while giving Irene an assuring smile.

"I'll heal Flygon, Altaria and Cinccino to the best of my ability before we take them to the Pokémon Center." Brock assured the young coordinator.

"But, I trained so hard with my Pokémon." Irene looked to her father. "How did I lose?"

"Because you didn't do any research on your opponents Pokémon, that's why." Paul spoke up causing Irene to stare at the trainer.

"What are you trying to say?" Irene sounded a bit flustered by her loss, and it was apparent in her voice.

"All I'm saying is that you didn't search the Pokémon in your Pokédex." Paul pointed to the Pokédex in Irene's hand. "If you had done your research, you would have known all of your dad's Pokémon were at least 20 levels higher than your Pokémon, meaning you weren't ready to battle him. His Pokémon were stronger than yours, but you were so interested in trying to impress him, you forgot the first lesson in being a Pokémon trainer—making sure that your Pokémon are strong enough for a fair battle." Paul's words to Irene felt like a slap in the face, but it was a much-needed slap in the face. She turned to Flygon who was in Brock's arms, looking away from the trainers and heading back into the house. She had a lot to think about.

"Your Pokémon are strong." Gary complimented Colress. "But I think that if Irene's Pokémon were a couple level's higher, they would have given you a run for your money."

"You just might be right about that Mr. Oak. It could be possible." Colress smiled to the young researcher. "She just has to learn that caring for Pokémon isn't a quick process. If you want them to become as strong as they possibly could be, then she needs to put in hard work."

"How long had she been a Pokémon coordinator for?" Paul probed.

"Ever since she turned ten-years-old." Colress answered. "I don't think that she realizes being a Pokémon trainer takes work. She just thinks they'll be powerful with the flick of a wrist."

"But there are some Pokémon that are powerful already." Max pointed out. "Like all the legendary Pokémon."

"Yes, but the legendary Pokémon are like you said Max, legendary. They each have important jobs that they have to do." Colress headed into the house, noticing that the teenagers were standing there looking baffled.

"Do you think someone should talk to her?" Chili finally said after a stunned silence.

"She'll be fine." Paul huffed, heading into the house. "No one became a trainer by someone babying them all the time. She just needs to think it over."

"Paul _is_ right, you know." Dawn thought about Paul's words, staring at the others.

"I still think someone should talk to Irene." Ash admitted.

"I'll do it!" Cress sounded almost eager.

"No, I'll do it." Chili harshly told his brother, walking ahead of him. Dawn's eyes opened in realization, remembering that Chili and Cress were acting exactly like—the triads that were at the ferry terminal in Unova!

"Um…Zoey, can I speak with you for a moment?" Dawn nudged at Zoey's arm.

"Sure, is something wrong?" Zoey questioned.

"Yeah, there is something wrong. Come on." Dawn led Zoey away from the others, walking to a nearby tree. "Chili and Cress…they have to be the other two Shadow Triads."

"What makes you think that?" Zoey raised her eyebrows in suspicion.

"They were acting the same exact way as when the Shadow Triads were in the ferry terminal." Dawn whispered.

"Seriously?" Zoey believed Dawn's words, but she couldn't believe that Chili and Cress would _also_ con them like their brother. "What are those three losers doing anyway? They must want something."

"But I don't get it. What do they want from us?" Dawn rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"We'll just have to keep an eye on them." Zoey concluded. Dawn nodded her head as if she was agreeing with her friend as they headed back with the others. The girls were surprised to see Cilan standing there, raising an eyebrow with an innocent expression on his face.

"What were we talking about here, ladies?" Cilan questioned. Dawn pulled Zoey along with her as they walked back to the group.

"It was girl talk. Don't ask any further questions because it's none of your business." Dawn impatiently spoke as the girls rushed past Cilan. Once the girls were out of view, Cilan's eyebrows furrowed. He knew what the girls were talking about, and he was going to have to get Chili and Cress in order to discuss the next plan in action.

* * *

"You know Irene; losing to your father isn't the end of the world." Karissa tried to console her daughter after watching the battle from the window.

"He was so much stronger than me." Irene sounded deflated. "I thought all the training I was doing was finally going to help me defeat dad, but instead he was still better than me. I wanted him to see what a great battler I was. Then Paul said that because I didn't do research on dad, I lost. I underestimated him. And the worst part is, Paul's right mom. Maybe I'm not cut out to be a coordinator or a trainer."

"I'm not going to have any of that talk in this household." Karissa firmly told her daughter. "You have the talent to go far, but you need to apply yourself. If you are serious about being a Pokémon trainer, then you need to apply yourself harder than you've ever had before."

"So you're saying that I should keep training with my Pokémon?" Irene tried to see the point of her mother's lecture.

"Yes, and one day they will be as strong as your father's. You just need to work with them. Your father had his Pokémon for _years_. You just need to put some faith in them. You also need to stop focusing on boys, since that's taking focus away from your goal." Karissa wagged a finger towards her daughter.

"Boys are not distracting me, mom." Irene refused to believe so.

"Oh they're not? So why did you lose the Hoenn Grand Festival a couple of years ago? You couldn't keep your eyes off Curtis. I also don't like the fact that you're traveling with so many boys." Karissa scoffed, heading over to the table.

"But mom, most of the boys that I'm traveling with are already taken." Irene explained. "Ash is with Dawn, Gary is with Zoey and I think Paul is with Misty. There's nothing for me to worry about."

"Well, I still don't want you to get distracted. What about Cilan, Chili, or Cress for that matter? When you did that tournament I could have sworn you were going to get together with Cress which would have furthered hindered your abilities."

"Please? Those three? They're most definitely not my type. I don't like any of them." Irene scoffed. "Don't worry about that. I won't get distracted with those losers, especially Cilan." Little did Irene know, Chili was about to enter the door in order to give her some advice, only to hear what Irene really thought of Chili, Cress and Cilan. She thought they weren't worth her time and that they were all _losers_. Chili turned around, walking away from the door, heading to find Cilan and Cress in order to complete the job Colress had given them. He couldn't believe that he was getting all worked up over a girl that didn't like him one bit. That mistake wasn't going to happen again, and Karissa had a point. Boys (and girls) were one big distraction.

"Well, all right then. Why don't you take some of the girls to the Pokémon Center in order to take care of your Pokémon?" Karissa suggested. "They need to recuperate after the battle they had."

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll go and find Dawn and Zoey." Irene ran out of the house in order to find the girls to walk into town. Karissa simply shook her head, turning back around to finish setting the table.

* * *

Irene explained that she wanted the girls to go with her to the Pokémon Center, in which they easily agreed much to the chagrin of Ash and Gary. The girls walked along to the nearest town, holding the three Pokéballs' that were involved in the battle from earlier.

"I can't believe my mom thinks that traveling with Ash, Paul and Gary is going to distract me." Irene looked over to the girls.

"Well, Ash having a girlfriend didn't stop you from flirting with him." Dawn pointed out, recalling the first time they met.

"And I'm sure if Gary wasn't sleeping, you would have flirted with him too." Zoey gave Irene a slight chuckle.

"Right…" Irene's face turned red. "But I wouldn't have taken them from you guys, you know that. It's just that it would be nice to have someone to share your accomplishments with."

"You don't need a boy to make you happy." Dawn tried to assure Irene.

"Yeah, that's what all the girls that are in love say." Irene sighed. She then turned to Dawn, a sly grin appearing on her face. "So Dawn, did you talk to Ash about…you know what?"

"No, I haven't talked to him about it yet." Dawn hastily answered. "And I think it's best that I think of a proper way to tell him. I also have to tell him about Cilan being the triad, along with Chili and Cress."

"Wait a minute, hold the phone. Chili and Cress are not a part of the shadow triads." Irene refused to believe.

"I have reason to believe that Chili and Cress are with Cilan. Why follow Cilan all this way? I don't trust neither of them." Dawn shook her head.

"And you have no reason to believe in us…" A voice spoke out from behind them. Zoey, Dawn and Irene turned their heads to see the three triads, standing before them.

"Why don't you just give it up Cilan? We all know that it's you!" Dawn yelled. The mask of the green triads was taken off, shown to be none other than Cilan.

"Well Dawn, looks like you figured it out. Unfortunately, your idiot boyfriend still doesn't know who I am." Cilan laughed evilly.

"But he _will_ once we tell him." Irene shouted, seeing the two other triads standing by Cilan.

"Oh, I don't think that you're going to tell Ash anything. We're going to teach you a lesson!" The blue triad spoke up, taking the Pokéball from his pocket. "Panpour, let's teach these brats some manners." Once Irene noticed the Panpour, her eyes widened, staring over at the blue triad.

"Cress?!" Irene exclaimed.

"And if you're Cress, then that means the red one is Chili." Zoey pointed over to the other Triad. The two other triads removed their masks, showing the girls their true selves.

"Well, I was wondering what was taking you so long." Chili sneered towards the girls.

"So, do you have any last words before we decide to make you our prisoner?" Cress walked closer towards the girls. Zoey and Dawn took out a couple of Pokéball's, knowing that Irene's Pokémon weren't in the best condition to fight them.

"Leafeon, Glameow! Curtain!" Zoey shouted, throwing the Pokéball. Leafeon and Glameow appeared, staring over at the Shadow Triads.

"Piplup, Pachirisu! Spotlight!" Dawn threw her Pokéball's towards the triads. Out popped Piplup and Pachirisu, staring over at the monkey Pokémon.

"Pansage, Pansear." Cilan and Chili threw their Pokéball's revealing the three elemental monkeys.

"You have to be kidding me? Dawn and Zoey have more Pokémon than you do." Irene let out a laugh.

"Oh, but it's not about quantity, Irene. It's about _quality_." Cress smirked.

"Pansear, Flamethrower on Leafeon, Pansage, Razor Leaf on Glameow. Panpour, Hydro Pump on Pachirisu!" Before the girls could get an attack out to their Pokémon, Leafeon, Glameow and Pachirisu were hit back by the respected attacks, each of them struggling to get up.

"Oh no!" Zoey shouted. She tried to go and get another Pokéball but she found her hand grabbed by Chili. "Let go of me!"

"I don't think so." Chili let out a snicker. Cilan walked over to Dawn, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her towards him.

"Let go of me! Help! Someone!" Dawn began to scream. Cress took the opportunity to grab Irene as well while Pansage attacked Piplup. "Somebody help us! Please!" Dawn, Zoey and Irene felt that they were almost a lost cause until—

"_PIKACHUUUUUUUUU!_" A loud cry came from the distance. The triads placed on their masks, turning around knowing the sound of that cry. It was none other than Pikachu, and not just any Pikachu—Ash's Pikachu.

"Ash!" Dawn sounded relieved seeing her boyfriend standing before them. Right behind Ash and Pikachu were Gary, Eevee, Paul, and Electivire. The boys continued to stare at the triads, their eyebrows creasing towards them.

"What is going on here?!" Ash sounded livid, staring at the triads. "So we attack teenage girls on their way to the Pokémon Center now? That's low, even for you!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have left the girls alone." Chili in disguise said.

"You leave them alone, you got that?" Gary's voice sounded irritated.

"I think bothering them is more fun." Cress turned his attention to Chili and Cilan. "What do you think?" Before the triads could give a command, Electivire's Iron Tail hit the triads, causing them to let go of the girls.

"Dawn, Zoey, Irene! RUN!" Ash yelled towards them. Dawn and Zoey placed their Pokémon quickly in their Pokéball before running towards the Pokémon Center with Irene in tow. The triads stood up, staring at the three boys with scowls.

"You've just made the biggest mistake of your life by crossing us, Ash Ketchum." Chili pointed to Ash.

"Who are you guys? And why are you so familiar?" Ash adjusted his ball cap, staring at the three boys.

"We're more familiar than you think." Cress spoke up before Cilan hit his brother in the stomach.

"Shut up." Cilan hissed.

"Enough talk!" Paul shouted. "Electivire! Thunderbolt!"

"You too Pikachu!" Ash added. Electivire and Pikachu quickly charged up their electricity, about to aim their thunderbolt towards the triads until a person from behind Ash pushed him to the ground, causing the mouse Pokémon to turn to his trainer.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu called out to Ash. Ash tried to get up but someone stepped on his back, causing him to stay on the ground. Paul and Gary turned their heads towards the man who had Ash pinned to the ground, anger boiling through their body.

"Hey! Let him go!" Paul started to charge towards the man but the shadow triads quickly got to the two teenagers, grabbing them from preventing the two from stopping the man.

"Who are you?!" Gary noticed the man's face covered by a mask.

"I don't think that's any of your concern." The man faced Paul and Gary before turning his attention to Ash. "I've been keeping a close eye on you Mr. Ketchum…you're quite the trainer, aren't you?"

"Who are you and what do you want?!" Ash was able to push the man's foot off him, turning over to try to get a good look of the man. The man once again placed his foot on Ash, but this time his chest.

"I heard that today was your birthday and I had yet to get you a gift…" the man let out a sinister snicker. "It's going to be a present that you will _die _for." Besides the man a Magnezone appeared, staring down at the trainer. "Magnezone, I'm sure you might want to take care of our little pest, isn't that right?"

"You plan on killing him with volts of electricity?!" Paul incredulously shouted.

"Not just any volts, young trainer. These volts are four times more powerful that that puny Pikachu!" The man pointed to Ash's Pikachu who simply snarled. "Now Magnezone, take care of him." The man removed his foot from Ash's chest, seeing the trainer staring at Magnezone with wide eyes—in a state of complete and utter fear. A moment later, Magnezone unleashed the most powerful thunderbolt that it could, shocking Ash and causing the trainer to emit a howling and painful scream. Gary and Paul watched in horror, feeling helpless that they couldn't help him while Pikachu felt water accumulate in his eyes.

"PIKA PI!" Pikachu let out a yell, tears streaming down his furry yellow cheeks, watching the man and his Magnezone torture and possibly kill his best friend.

* * *

**A/N: It appears that our masked man and the Shadow Triads have Ash right where they want him, wanting to rid of him once and for all. Will the Shadow Triad's plan work or will our heroes come up with a way to save Ash before its too late? We'll find out this and more coming up on _Pokémon: The Electric Project._**


	18. A Mysterious Man's Identity Revealed

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, Irene and Colress had a battle with one another with Colress defeating Irene's 3 Pokémon with his Magnezone and Klinklang. But when Irene, Dawn and Zoey went to the Pokémon Center to care for Irene's Pokémon, the Shadow Triads (also known as Cilan, Cress and Chili) showed up to attack the girls, only being momentarily saved by Ash, Paul and Gary. After the girls got away, the triads (and a mysterious) man decided the best way to get the fire crystal was to get rid of Ash! Will our heroes save him or could this be the end for the young Unova Champion? Read and find out! **

* * *

As Gary, Paul and Pikachu stared in shock; the masked man along with the Shadow Triads couldn't help but feel more alive. Getting rid of Ash would have been the first step to his quest of getting the crystals with almost no problem, but the feeling of taking the life out of the teenager left the man somewhat hungry for more destruction. The man stared at his Magnezone, who was still emitting the powerful thunder shocks, draining the life out of the teenage boy. Paul and Gary had to do their best to fight back tears, not wanting the Shadow Triads to think that they were weak. Pikachu on the other hand wasn't afraid to let his feeling become known. Tears had streamed down the mouse Pokémon's cheeks, seeing his best friend in a helpless state. Pikachu tried to think of a way to stop the man, but if he did then the Shadow Triads wouldn't have hesitated to attack and kill him. If only, someone could help him…

"BRICK BREAK! LET'S GO!" A voice yelled. Gary, Paul and Pikachu turned their heads to the distance, seeing none other than a Garchomp running towards the scene, about to attack the Magnezone. Garchomp braced itself before hitting the Magnezone dead on and sending the Pokémon flying into one of the trees.

"What on earth is this?!" The man turned his head, surprised to see none other than Cynthia and Alder standing in the distance. Gary and Paul became relieved, but the champions were more focused on trying to save Ash's life.

"Almost killing a teenage boy because you feel threatened by him? What a coward." Alder hissed.

"I have to agree." Cynthia crossed her arms, staring over at the triads. "As for you three, let the boys go!"

"Why should we?" the triads spoke in unison.

"Because if you don't then I will make sure you never see the light of day again." Cynthia's voice sounded calm…almost too calm. The distraction for the triads allowed enough time for Gary to hit one of them to get out of their grasp. Paul decided that attacking them would have been a good idea as well, following Gary's lead in order to get out of the grasp of Cilan and Chili.

"Now how about we end this." Gary furrowed his eyebrows to the man. "Eevee! Use bite! Pikachu, send them blasting off!" Pikachu's cheeks automatically filled with electricity, emitting the energy to hit the man that was before him. Eevee quickly ran over and bit the man in the leg, causing him to howl in pain.

"Maybe we should retreat!" Cress yelled to the man.

"That would be a good idea." The man ran off with the triads following. "We're not done by a long shot. Those crystals will be ours and by the time all this is said and done, Team Plasma will rule the world." The man ran into the woods, the triads quickly following but not before the man tripped over a log with the triads helping him up and continuing their trek. Cynthia and Alder ran to Ash's side, seeing the trainer's eyes closed and him grimacing in pain.

"We're going to have to get him to the Pokémon Center." Paul leaned next to Cynthia to stare at Ash.

"Are you and Gary all right, Paul?" Alder looked to the trainer. Paul stared at the Unova Champion, quickly nodding his head. "What were you three thinking, trying to take on the triads and that man like that?"

"We had to do something! The triads were bothering Dawn, Zoey and Irene." Gary tried to defend their actions.

"Wait a minute, where are the girls?" Cynthia revert her attention to Paul and Gary.

"They went running towards the Pokémon Center." Paul said. Cynthia stared back at Ash, picking him up slowly just to make sure that she didn't hurt him any further.

"We're going to have to take him to the Pokémon Center and see if there's something that Nurse Joy and Chansey can do." Cynthia instructed.

"That sounds like a plan to me." Gary agreed. Alder, Gary and Cynthia went ahead but Paul stayed behind a moment after noticing Pikachu was staring at his trainer with fear in his eyes. Paul walked over to Pikachu, crouching down to get to Pikachu's eye level.

"Ash is going to be fine, Pikachu." Paul tried his best to console the Pokémon. "He's not going to give up fighting for his life because he knows you're here." Pikachu walked over to Paul, climbing on the trainer's shoulder. Paul noticed the hurt in Pikachu's eyes, taking a deep breath while staring at him. "I don't normally let Pokémon sit on my shoulder because I find that a little weird…but for you I'll make an exception." Paul led Pikachu towards the Pokémon Center, remembering now that he had to break the news to Dawn that Ash was seriously injured.

* * *

"Where can they be?!" Irene paced back and forth, becoming worried about the boys.

"I'm sure that they're fine." Zoey assured the coordinator. "I mean, it's not like this is the first time Ash, Gary and Paul had to face the triads."

"I just hope they didn't beat them up too badly." Irene's worried demeanor changed into rage. "Just so I can get my hands on them and give them a piece of my mind!"

"I do have to admit, I didn't think it would take this long for Ash, Paul and Gary to take on the triads. I mean, Ash is the Unova Champion and Gary and Paul's Pokémon are extremely strong." Dawn looked out the window, wondering if her boyfriend was all right. Dawn, Zoey and Irene turned to the door of the Pokémon Center, seeing Gary and Alder walk in before Cynthia.

"Gary!" Zoey sounded relieved, running over to the researcher to engulf him in a hug. "Are you all right?! I was so worried about you!"

"I'm fine, don't worry." Gary held onto his girlfriend tightly. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. The triads didn't hurt us. You showed up right on time." Zoey looked around the room, noticing that Ash and Paul were nowhere to be found. "Where's Ash and Paul?"

"Yeah, where are they?" Dawn walked over to the researcher. Gary looked down, unable to make eye contact with the girls. "Gary…where is Ash?" Dawn's voice sounded a bit more urgent this time.

"Ash…Ash is…" Gary started to explicate, turning his head to see Paul entering with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Why is Pikachu on _Paul's _shoulder?" Zoey pointed towards Ash's rival, turning back to her boyfriend with an angered expression. "Gary, you tell us where Ash is right now!"

"He's right here…" Cynthia entered the room with Ash lying in her arms, still unconscious from the attack. Dawn's eyes widened at the horror, running over to the Sinnoh Champion, hoping that Ash wasn't dead.

"Ash! Please, wake up." Dawn placed a hand on his cheek but received no answer. Dawn felt her eyes watering as she turned away and started to cry. Gary walked over to Dawn, placing a hand on her shoulder while staring at his best friend. Gary felt a tear come to his eye as it rolled down the side of his cheek. He couldn't believe that his friend from Pallet Town could have possibly been murdered by none other than Team Plasma's goons.

"What happened to him?" Irene croaked out, asking what was on everyone's mind.

"He was shocked by a Magnezone." Paul noticed Pikachu digging his claws in his shoulder. "It was a really powerful one too."

"A powerful Magnezone." Irene thought to herself, knowing that not a lot of people in the Sinnoh region actually owned one. "Well, is Ash going to be all right?"

"We're going to try to heal him." Cynthia solemnly said. Dawn walked over, rage and fury eminent on her face.

"You _better_. Because if anything happens to Ash then it will be your fault for not telling him the truth!" Dawn looked over to her boyfriend who actually looked a bit peaceful, knowing that he was probably feeling just the opposite.

"And I see you're still mad at me." Cynthia guiltily said to the coordinator. "You have every right to be so. You were right. Not telling him the truth was the biggest mistake I could have made." Irene walked over to Ash, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I wish there was a way that we could find a way to make him feel better." In that moment, a red glow started to appear around the trainer, causing everyone in the room to let out a gasp.

"Irene, what did you _do_ to him?!" Paul pointed out towards the red glow surrounding the trainer.

"I…I don't know." Irene removed her hand from Ash's shoulder, seeing the red glow still present. After a few moments, the glow around Ash vanished, causing the teenagers to stare at him. A moment later, Ash's eyes began to flutter open causing Dawn and Pikachu to run over to him. Cynthia quickly placed Ash on the Pokémon Center chairs as he held his head in confusion.

"Wha…what happened?" Ash was able to mutter out while staring at Dawn and Pikachu.

"Ash! Oh, thank goodness you're all right!" Dawn placed kisses on Ash's cheek repeatedly, causing the trainer to heavily blush.

"PIKA PI!" Pikachu jumped on Ash's lap, nuzzling the trainer's face with his own.

"Can someone please explain to me why it feels like I was hit by a truck?" Ash spoke after a moment.

"You mean you don't remember?" Paul walked over to Ash, his face full of worry.

"No…was I supposed to?" Ash looked at Pikachu and Dawn, giving them a weary grin.

"A Magnezone attacked you…it was because of the shadow triads." Gary explained.

"That explains why I feel so sore." Ash continued to stare at Dawn. "So if I was shocked by a powerful Magnezone, then why am I here?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Paul shrugged his shoulders. "Irene touched you, you started glowing and then all of a sudden you woke up. It was completely weird." Ash revert his glance towards Irene, seeing the red ruby bracelet on her left arm. Ash thought about it for a moment, finally taking a deep breath to say what was on his mind.

"Irene, with which hand did you touch me with?" Ash wondered. Irene rose up her left hand, causing Ash's suspicions to be confirmed. "I think…I think it was Irene's bracelet that healed me."

"Irene's bracelet?" Alder and Cynthia stared over at the coordinator's wristlet, unsure why everyone was so interested in it again.

"Irene, do you mind if I ask where you got that bracelet?" Gary's scientific instincts began to kick in.

"Well, my grandmother gave it to me…it used to belong to my grandfather." Irene explained.

"Well then, you might want to get information from your grandmother about the bracelet." Cynthia instructed. Irene looked to Gary who flashed a smile.

"I'll go with you." Gary offered.

"Sounds like a plan. I was actually afraid of going alone." Irene admitted, blushing at the researcher. Gary realized that Irene had answered him in a flirty tone and began to back away slowly, just so Zoey, who happened to have been standing right there, wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"Irene." Zoey's voice sounded a bit harsh. "Can you please stop flirting with my boyfriend?"

"Yes, please…it's quite uncomfortable." Gary agreed.

"Can we get back to the plan at hand please?" Paul snapped his fingers in front of Irene, a frown apparent on his face. "Go and speak with your grandmother. We have to find out what the secret behind that bracelet is and how the hell it was able to bring Ash back to life."

"I was dead?!" Ash exclaimed, his eyes widening towards Paul.

"Well…no…but you were close." Paul didn't look back at Ash, but kept his gaze fixated on Irene. "Irene, go with Gary and Zoey in order to find out the secret behind the bracelet."

"Can I bring the gang that's back at the house?" Irene wondered.

"You can bring a three headed dog for all I care." Paul scoffed. "Just go and talk to your grandmother." Irene walked over to the table, taking the Pokéball's that contained her Pokémon before heading out the door. "Oh, Gary." Gary turned around, staring at Paul.

"Yes?" Gary wondered. Paul walked closer to the researcher, keeping a straight face.

"Tell anyone that I almost cried when Ash was almost killed and I _will_ kill you." Paul threatened. Gary felt chills down his spine as he trembled.

"Deal." Gary quickly agreed to keep their secret, walking away from the trainer in haste. Zoey and Irene left the Pokémon Center while Cynthia switched her attention to Ash.

"Alder, do you mind following the other children back to Irene's house? There's something I have to take care of here."

"Sure, Cynthia. Just…break the news gently. You don't want to frighten the poor lad." Alder softly said, giving Cynthia a concerned gaze.

"All right, I will." Cynthia noticed her partner leaving the Pokémon center as she walked over to where Ash and Dawn were sitting. Dawn and Paul walked over to the champion, seeing that she was going to do what she should have done in the first place: tell Ash the truth. "All right, when we tell him we have to be sensitive. Do you think you two can handle that?"

"Of course." Dawn nodded her head with no animosity in her voice.

"Sure, whatever." Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"So, is there a reason why we didn't follow Irene?" Ash pointed towards the door, the same direction Irene, Zoey and Gary departed.

"There actually is something we wanted to talk to you about." Cynthia took a deep breath, staring towards Dawn and Paul.

"What?" Ash started towards his girlfriend, his rival and the champion before fixating his gaze on Pikachu who was still on his lap.

"It has to do with the Shadow Triads." Cynthia started to explain.

"Why is everyone trying to tell me about the shadow triads?" Ash was beginning to get annoyed. It seemed like every time someone wanted to talk to him, it had to be about the triads. "Those jerks almost killed me! I don't think I want to talk to them."

"Well then, if you think they're jerks now just wait till you find out who they actually are." Paul couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Do you have something to say, Paul?" Ash turned angry.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Paul calmly looked to Ash, shrugging his shoulders as if what he was about to say had no importance. "Cilan's the Shadow Triad along with Cress and Chili." Ash stared at Paul dumbfounded while Dawn and Cynthia widened their eyes to the trainer.

"Paul, what happened to being sensitive?" Cynthia looked shocked that the one thing she told Paul to do, he did the opposite.

"I thought of the situation as one gigantic bandage. We either get straight to the point where it hurts for a moment or we beat around the bush and it hurts more as you try to find a way to tell the truth." Paul continued to monitor Ash's face, finally seeing that the shock was wearing off. "Good, he's no longer shocked."

"WHAT?!" Ash blurted out after taking it all in. "Cilan _can't_ be the Shadow Triad!"

"He is Ketchum." Paul's tone sounded harsh.

"Once again, what happened to being sensitive?" Cynthia repeated.

"If you want 'sensitive' then go talk to my brother. Instead, you're dealing with me where you get a blunt answer." Dawn and Cynthia figured now would have been a good time to ignore Paul. Dawn looked to Ash, who continued to stare out at Paul.

"Why is everyone telling me that Cilan is the Shadow Triad?" Ash tried to get up from the seat, but found that his legs hadn't woken up like the rest of his body, so he was confined to the chair.

"Because it's true…" Dawn finally said. Ash looked to his girlfriend, his face appearing as if he had been hurt.

"Dawn…you _knew_ about this?" Ash wasn't sure if he should have been angry or betrayed.

"I only found out about this today." Dawn raised her hand up in defense.

"She's right…" Cynthia finally spoke after observing the scene for a moment. "She was the one that came to me and told me that she wanted to tell you. It's my fault that everyone was quiet around you."

"Although I tried multiple times to tell you." Paul added.

"So you all _lied_ to me?!" Ash finally was able to feel his legs as he got up from the chair, walking away from them.

"Ash, it's not like that." Dawn started to follow him.

"Dawn, we made a promise: no more secrets! The first thing you do since then was finding out about the Shadow Triads and then kept is a secret from me!" Dawn walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, I did. I never wanted to keep it a secret from you." Dawn made Ash face her as they stared into each other's eyes. "Look, now you know so now you can do something about it."

"I…I don't know." The way Ash spoke made Dawn take a step back for a moment. He sounded as if—he was scared of the triads.

"Ash…are you okay?" Dawn continued to observe him.

"Yeah…I think so…" Dawn put a hand on her hips, not hearing the answer she wanted to hear. "No. I'm terrified. I almost died because of the triads. Are you sure that it was Cilan, Cress and Chili?"

"I saw them. They didn't have on their masks." Dawn nodded her head, staring at her boyfriend. "Cilan has been playing us the whole time. He was pretending to be your friend."

"I think I'm going to be sick…" Ash muttered, feeling the urge to sit down once again. Paul looked as if he was going to say something comforting—something that would have been out of the norm for the trainer.

"Well, you _can't_ take all the time you need. Because we need to go and tell the others that Cilan's the triad…although they all know the truth."

"PAUL!" Everyone shouted to him.

"I'm telling it like it is." Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"You need some sensitivity training." Dawn said what was on everyone's mind.

"I'm not a sensitive person." Paul walked towards the window, staring out as if he wasn't going to say another word.

"Ash, if you're going to be mad at anyone…then it has to be with me." Cynthia pointed to herself, causing the trainer to stare at her intently. "I was the one that told them not to say a word, even though they wanted to. I was trying to protect you and I see that I did the opposite of my intent. I'm sorry."

"You know I'm going to need proof." Ash noticed Paul going in his pocket as he pulled out his Pokédex.

"Good thing you asked for proof. Here." Paul put the Pokédex in front of Ash's face, showing the trainer what was on the screen. It was none other than the pictures of the mask and wig in Cilan's bag. Ash grabbed Paul's Pokédex, letting the cold, hard truth set in. Cilan _was_ the triad. His friend—or who he _thought_ was his friend had betrayed them. And for what reason? Why did Cilan betray him? Was there something that he wanted? Ash handed Paul his Pokédex before walking out of the Pokémon Center.

"I need some air." Ash muttered aloud. Pikachu started to follow Ash, but his trainer simply turned to him while furrowing his eyebrows. "Alone." Pikachu took a step back as Ash left the Pokémon Center in order to take in all the news.

"You're welcome!" Paul yelled out, causing everyone to turn towards him.

"Like I said, you _really_ need sensitivity training." Dawn walked past Paul in order to follow Ash out the door.

"I thought that he said he wanted to be _alone_." Paul thought Dawn didn't understand a single word Ash said.

"Ash _said_ he wanted to be alone. But remember, we don't listen to Ash all the time." Dawn went out the door, Pikachu quickly following the coordinator's footsteps. Dawn had to find him in order to explain everything. She didn't want him to think that he couldn't trust anyone.

* * *

Dawn wandered until she spotted Ash in a secluded part of the forest, heading down the path back towards Irene's house—and he seemed upset. Dawn walked towards him, seeing that he had picked up something from the ground, hurling it in anger—and almost hitting her! Dawn and Pikachu quickly ducked, seeing the small rock had landed next to a nearby river.

"Hey! Watch it!" Dawn shouted. Ash had realized what he had done, running over to Dawn just to make sure that she was all right.

"Sorry, are you okay?" Ash leaned down towards his girlfriend, placing a hand on her shoulder. That was enough for Dawn as she clung onto him, feeling tears pour down her cheek. Ash held onto her, staring at Pikachu. Why was Dawn crying? If there was anyone that had the right to cry at that moment, it was him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry." Dawn said, her voice sounding muffled as she hid her face in Ash's vest. Ash moved Dawn's face, staring into her blue eyes.

"Why are you sorry?" Ash didn't understand.

"Because I should have told you when I found out earlier today, but I didn't. I didn't tell you. Even after we promised we wouldn't keep secrets from one another." Dawn felt the tears stream down her face. Ash pulled Dawn close to him, soothing her.

"Dawn, stop crying. You don't have to apologize. I know that everyone thought it was going to be the right way to protect me, but don't you see that this is so much more dangerous? We've been traveling with someone that has vital information and could get it to Ghetsis." Dawn wiped her tears, realizing that Ash wasn't mad—at least not with her. "I know you did it to try to protect me. Just like I didn't tell you about Lucius because I was trying to protect you."

"So you're not mad at me?" Dawn finally managed to ask after wiping away the rest of her tears. Ash shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face.

"I'm not mad at you. If there's anyone I should be mad at, it's Cilan. He's the one that betrayed me." Ash reasoned with her. Dawn continued to stare into Ash's eyes, holding onto him as if he was the most important thing in her entire life.

"I'm sorry about everything. I really am." Dawn whispered.

"Don't be. All right." Ash waved it off. Dawn wrapped her arms around him, engulfing him with a hug as Pikachu watched the couple with a smile. Pikachu turned his head, hearing something from the bushes, crouching in order to get a better look at the situation.

"Pikachu?" Ash noticed his best friend staring intently at the bushes ahead. "Are you okay?"

"Pikachu…" Pikachu answered softly, still trying to figure out who was following them. Ash and Dawn stared out into the horizon, beginning to feel as if they were being watched. Pikachu started gearing up his cheeks for a thunder attack, in case it turned out to be any of the shadow triads.

"Cease fire." A voice that sounded familiar spoke as it came out from behind the bush. The voice belonged to none other than Paul, who was currently dusting himself off after getting leaves on him.

"Paul?" Dawn stood up, walking over to him.

"Paul, what are you doing here?" Ash wondered.

"I just came to see if everything was all right." Paul shrugged. "I kind of felt bad after the way you left the Pokémon Center."

"In other words, Paul cared." Dawn teased the trainer. Paul couldn't deny it. He actually _did_ care, mostly because he felt like this was his fault.

"Paul, you're not denying it…" Ash noticed his rival staring to the ground after a moment of silence. Paul forced himself to look at Ash, trying to find the right words to say.

"I'm not denying it…because I think it might be true." Paul noticed Ash looking taken aback. "I mean, I had been trying to tell you about Cilan this whole time, but every time I got close, he either beat me up or he threatened to hurt everyone around me. I know I shouldn't have been afraid of him but I knew what he was capable of. And for not telling you, I apologize."

"Again, Paul cares." Dawn translated Paul's sentence.

"Yeah, I think that was all I heard from that sentence." Ash teased alongside his girlfriend. Paul normally would have lost his temper, but he was glad to see that Ash was alive—and that he was joking around again.

"Look, the next time that Cilan or anyone else is backstabbing you, I'd be sure to tell you." Paul promised.

"I would appreciate that Paul. Thanks." Ash nodded his head. Paul held out his hand, but all Ash did was stare down at the hand as if it was a foreign object.

"So are you going to just stand there or are you going to shake my hand?" Paul said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Right." Ash brought his hand out and shook his rival's hand, glad that they could put the whole Cilan predicament behind them. "There's just one other thing that I have to do."

"What's that?" Dawn wondered.

"I have to apologize to Gary. He had told me that Cilan was the triad and I didn't believe him." Ash sounded a bit guilty.

"Oh, he's not mad about that." Paul waved it off. "After almost seeing you die, he pretty much forgot all about that. Plus, the both of you already know who it is."

"Well, I'm just glad that he knows that I know the truth." Ash shrugged his shoulders, speaking in a nonchalant tone. "You know, I'm actually interested in Irene's bracelet myself."

"Me too." Dawn agreed.

"So how about we go and find Irene in order to find out the truth about the bracelet?" Paul suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea." Ash agreed. Paul, Ash and Dawn led their way back to Irene's house, opening the door in order to find Misty pacing as if she was worried about something—or someone. Misty turned her head, seeing Paul, Ash and Dawn at the door, walking over to them in anger.

"There you are!" Misty pointed her fingers towards the boys. "Did you know that Gary came by the house earlier in order to get everyone else to talk about Irene's bracelet, but when I asked where the two of you were, he said that you were at the Pokémon Center because Ash almost died! What on earth happened?!"

"Well—" Paul started to explain but Misty cut him off.

"He said that you were attacked by the Shadow Triad that ended up being Cilan, Cress and Chili! Then some guy that controls the Triads came along and shocked Ash with a powerful Magnezone, with Ash almost dying from the attack! If his mother gets ahold of what happened, she will never let him forget it! And what would have happened if you had died Paul?"

"But I—"

"Do you know how hard it would have been on all your friends if you had died?! You tried to play hero but then you ended up in a situation that was too much for you to handle! Did you know how worried everyone was? Did you know how worried I was?! How could be so stupi—" Misty didn't finish her rant as Paul pulled her into a hug. He didn't mean to worry her and he didn't know that she had felt so strongly against him trying to be the hero. Paul gazed into Misty's eyes, almost oblivious to the fact that Ash and Dawn were still in the room.

"Look, I'm not dead. Obviously, I'm here and I'm talking to you, right? So don't worry about it. I'm sorry if I worried you, but Ash needed help. He was almost killed by some man that we don't know. As his friend, I feel it's my obligation to help him. Is that a good enough answer for you?" Misty continued to stare at the trainer, whose gaze didn't falter from his firm demeanor. Misty finally relented, staring at Paul with worried eyes, placing her hand on his cheek.

"Look, just promise me that next time you try to play the hero, you'll think everything through. The last thing I need is for you to die." Paul pretended to think about Misty's suggestion for a moment, causing her to become agitated again. "Paul!"

"What? I was kidding. All right, all right. I'll be careful next time. I promise." Paul then took a step back looking out the door. "So where do you think Irene's grandmother lives?"

"She actually lives in the house next to this one." Misty said. "Come on, I was waiting for you guys to come back before I went with the others." Misty then turned her attention to Ash, her eyebrows furrowing towards him. "As for you Ash, you need to stop almost getting yourself killed. It's getting pretty old."

"Glad to know that you care that I'm alive, Misty." Ash gave his friend a wide smile, reading her like a book. Misty's smile widened, patting her good friend on his shoulder. With that, the four teenagers headed to the house next door in order to find out about the bracelet.

* * *

Once Ash, Dawn, Paul and Misty reached the house, they noticed a sight that they recognized all too well—Croagunk dragging Brock away from the house. Paul slapped his forehead with his hand, shaking his head at the scene.

"That's just wrong. Brock's flirting with an old grandma?" Paul shuddered at the thought.

"I don't think it's the grandmother that Brock was flirting with." Misty looked out into the distance. "Look." Paul looked up seeing two young women standing there talking with the others.

"At least he's not as crazy as I thought." Paul shrugged, walking ahead of Misty, Ash and Dawn.

"Do you think they know Irene?" Dawn wondered, pointing towards the two women.

"I would think so." Misty said. "I mean they are in her grandmother's backyard."

"Well, what do we have here?!" A voice said, snapping the other three teenagers out of their thought. An old woman stood before them, giving them a nice warm smile—but Misty, Ash and Dawn seemed curious. Was this Irene's grandmother?

"Hi there, we're looking for Irene's grandmother. Have you seen her?" Dawn wondered.

"Have I seen her? Well, I believe I have. She's right here." The old woman pointed to herself, causing Dawn to let out a feeble smile.

"My name's Misty." Misty held out her hand for the grandmother to take.

"I'm Ash and this is Dawn and Pikachu." Ash pointed to both Dawn and Pikachu after introducing himself.

"Pika, Pikachu." Pikachu grinned.

"Well, it's nice to see you lovely children." Irene's grandmother shook Misty's hand while staring at Ash. "So what can I do for you today?"

"Actually, we were wondering if Irene was here." Dawn speculated. "She said she was going to talk to you about the bracelet that she has on."

"Oh, that bracelet?" Irene's grandmother's eyes broadened. "It's a special heirloom that's been passed down from generations. What do you need to know about the bracelet?"

"Well, we can start with the fact that an evil organization named Team Plasma is after it." Misty traversed her arms.

"Team Plasma? Why on earth would they be after the bracelet?"

"We were hoping that you could tell us." Dawn looked to the grandmother with curiosity. "I mean, you do know about where the bracelet came from, right?"

"Of course I do. It belonged to Irene's grandfather." Irene's grandmother walked towards the house, instructing Ash, Dawn and Misty to follow her. "If I'm going to tell the story then we should go in the house. It's a very complicated story."

"Sounds great." Misty turned to Paul's direction, instructing him to come over. Paul walked over to Misty, catching the attention of the old grandmother.

"Oh my goodness, aren't you a cutie!" Irene's grandmother pinched Paul's cheeks, causing the trainer's eyes to widen in shock.

"Ouch." Paul said in monotone. Irene's grandmother ignored Paul's 'cry' for help, staring at him with a beam. After a moment, she let go of the trainer's cheeks, turning to Misty with a grin.

"My goodness isn't he adorable!" Irene's grandmother gushed at Paul. "He actually reminds me of Walter when he was his age."

"I'm sorry, do you mind if I ask who Walter is?" Paul raised his eyebrow.

"Right, of course. Come on in children. There's something that I want to discuss with you."

"What about the others, shouldn't they know?" Misty pointed over to where her friends were.

"I think its best that we let them keep Irene company, before she gets suspicious. I don't want her to know the dangers of her bracelet for the fear that she will panic." Irene's grandmother opened the door, allowing the teenagers to come into the lovely home. They couldn't help but stare out into the lovely living room which had pictures of Irene's grandmother with a man. Dawn and Misty had an idea of who the man could have been but Ash and Paul were oblivious. "I see that you're enjoying the pictures all over the room?"

"Who is this man? He looks a bit like Colress." Misty stared into the picture with intent.

"That's Walter. He was my husband and he was Colress's father." Irene's grandmother stared at the picture as if a sad memory had taken over her.

"So that's Walter." Paul rubbed his cheeks, still feeling the sting from when Irene's grandmother pinched him.

"Yes, he had the same personality as you. He was brooding, he was determined and he was no nonsense, but he somehow managed to fall in love with me. I don't know what Walter saw in me though. It was unbelievable." Misty stared at Paul while Paul's eyes focused on the gym leader. They stared at one another for a moment before getting back to why they were here in the first place.

"Was Walter the one that had possession of the ruby bracelet Irene has?" Paul asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Irene's grandmother continued to stare at the picture with interest. "You see, Walter was a Pokémon Ranger in his day. His partner was a Magnemite that he found in Mt. Coronet. Walter and Magnemite would do everything together. They were quite the inseparable pair. One day while traveling to save a group of Magneton that were trapped in Mt. Coronet, he found a bracelet that was lying on the ground. It began to glow a bright red, so Walter went to pick it up to see what it was. As Walter picked it up, the bracelet started to shake, and the more it would shake, the closer Walter and Magnemite got to some treasure. By the time the bracelet stopped shaking—he ended up finding a crystal that was shaped like a star. He said it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and to prevent anyone from finding it and causing the crystal harm, he hid it on one of the highest pillars in Mt. Coronet."

"Wait a minute, you said the crystal was shaped like star?!" Paul blurted out in shock.

"Yes, is something the matter?" Irene's grandmother didn't understand what was going on.

"That crystal is the one that we're looking for. It's in Mt. Coronet, isn't it?" Paul asked the old woman.

"Is there a reason why you're looking for that crystal? Because, I don't like it when people tamper around with the Pokémon world."

"We're trying to find the crystal to prevent that. If Team Plasma has all the crystals in their possession then they're going to ruin the world. We need to get all the crystals so we can find the rainbow crystal and rid of Team Plasma." Ash explained.

"So you're all on a mission. Well, aren't you a little young to be traveling all by yourselves?" Irene's grandmother crossed her arms.

"We're traveling with Cynthia and Alder. We're in good hands." Paul assured her.

"Well then, in that case I hope that you are successful in your journey. It's people like Team Plasma that I don't like. Messing with the Pokémon world." Irene's grandmother looked back to the picture with her and Walter, feeling her heart becoming heavy. "Walter would have never wanted any of that."

"Do you mind if I ask, what happened to Walter?" Dawn hoped that she wasn't intruding on personal territory.

"Walter became sick after coming back from Snowpoint City. We thought he was going to get better but he did just the opposite. Oh, his Pokémon were crushed when he died. They would sit in his old rocking chair over there and just hope and wait to see if he would come through the door and tell them that they were going on a new adventure. It broke my heart, the poor dears. Eventually they learned that Walter wasn't coming back, so they started to move on. The poor things."

"What happened to his Pokémon?" Paul became interested.

"Well, I still have most of them in the garden over there, but Walter gave Magnemite to Colress. Eventually Magnemite evolved into a Magneton and then finally a Magnezone. When he came home from his last adventure, he showed me how strong Magnezone had gotten. it was one of the most powerful Pokémon I had ever seen. As a matter of fact, his Magnezone's thunder shocks were four times as powerful as a shock from a Pikachu—at least, that's what he told me."

"Wait a minute; the man that almost killed Ash said the same thing with his Magnezone!" Paul looked to Misty, Ash and Dawn, thinking back to the turn of events.

"So what are you saying?" Misty crossed her arms.

"Yes, what _are_ you saying?" Irene's grandmother raised her eyebrow in suspicion. Paul realized that Irene's grandmother was right there, so he decided to hold off on the conversation for a moment.

"Um, we're just going to go if that's okay with you." Paul pointed towards the door.

"It was very nice to meet you." Dawn smiled to the old woman before heading out the door with the others.

"Likewise…" Irene's grandmother noticed the teenagers were long gone, and she was becoming suspicious.

* * *

"All right Paul, what are you getting at?" Misty asked. Paul had led Ash, Dawn and Misty as far away from Irene's grandmother's house as possible, but still able to get a view of both of the houses.

"All right, listen to what I'm going to say and don't freak out because I know that's what all of you do best." Paul eyed all of them before releasing a sigh. "The man that attacked Ash—_was_ Colress. Him and those Shadow dorks."

"Wait, what makes you think it was Colress?" Dawn asked.

"Remember when he and Irene had that battle and Magnezone was so powerful that it was able to knock out both Altaria and Cinccino? Well, if Magnezone was able to do that in a short amount of hits, then he could have easily attempted to knock out Ash in one hit. Magnezone was a level 85 according to my Pokédex, meaning that it was extremely strong. Also, there's one other thing that we have to look out for."

"What's that?"

"When the triads and the man ran away, the man tripped over a log and it looked like a pretty nasty fall. If Colress is limping then he's obviously the one that attacked Ash."

"There's Colress." Ash pointed while everyone else followed Ash's finger. Colress _was_ limping into the house, so it must have taken a while in order for him to get back.

"Looks like we know the truth now." Dawn gritted her teeth, staring at the man they all thought they could trust.

"Yep." Paul pointed at Colress; his eyebrow's curving while glaring at the scientist. "And bingo was his name-o."

* * *

**A/N: It looks like our heroes found out who was the one that attacked Ash-Colress. With their list of enemies growing, will our heroes begin to feel that they can't trust almost anyone on their pursuit of the fire crystal? Will our heroes get the fire crystal before Team Plasma-and where is Team Electric? All those answers and more, coming up on _Pokémon: The Electric Project_**


	19. The Ultimate Betrayal

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, Irene's bracelet was able to save Ash's life, but unfortunately for Ash, he finally figured out the truth about his friend Cilan, who ended up working for Team Plasma as a Shadow Triad. After an interview with Irene's grandmother, Paul, Misty, Ash and Dawn were able to conclude that the mystery man with the powerful Magnezone was none other than Colress! What will befall our heroes in this chapter? Read on to find out!**

* * *

"I don't know why you would decide to take a jog in the woods Colress." Karissa bandaged the scientists' leg while they were both sitting in the kitchen. "I just knew that you were going to get hurt one of these days."

"It's fine, Karissa trust me." Colress tried to assure his wife. "I'm sure that it's nothing. Besides, I'll be up and about in no time." Karissa wanted to stay mad at her husband, but was finding it harder to do so since he gave her his signature 'puppy dog' gaze.

"Ugh, fine. I'll forgive you this time." Karissa wagged her finger towards Colress. "But no more late night jogs in the woods. Your work is very important to you and you don't want an injury to prevent you from actually doing it." Colress felt a pang of guilt surge throughout his body. He didn't know how he was actually going to tell his wife what he was really up to. How he wasn't just taking a jog in the woods, but he was out there trying to stop teenagers from getting the crystal that Ghetsis needed to take over the Pokémon world.

"That's all I ask my dear." Colress simply stated. The door handle turned, meaning that someone was going to come in the house. That someone ended up being none other than Paul, Misty, Ash and Dawn. Karissa flashed a smile towards the teenagers, oblivious to the tension in the room between the scientist and the kids.

"Hello kids, where have you been?" Karissa wondered.

"We were taking a walk to the Pokémon Center and decided to come back." Paul answered, but kept his gaze on Colress.

"Well then, why don't you kids go and get Irene, letting her know that dinner is almost ready." Karissa then focused her attention to Colress, walking over to get her jacket from the hanger. "While Colress and I go into town and get a few things."

"Usually that just means you want to talk…until my eardrums bleed." Colress let out a groan.

"Well I don't have disinfectant spray for your leg, so you're going to have to come with me to get it. Let's go." Karissa motioned for her husband to get up from the chair. While Colress limped past the teenagers, he focused on Paul, who was giving him a callous glare. Paul knew everything that was going on. Colress only hoped that he could keep the façade up much longer before everything came crashing down on him. Colress and Karissa let the room, closing the door behind them.

"You have a glare that could turn a Pokémon to stone." Misty commented, noticing Paul's face wasn't softening up.

"He almost killed Ash. What do you want me to do? Smile?" Paul looked to the teenagers, wondering what their next move should be. "Do you think we should tell the others what's going on?"

"I think that would be our best bet." Dawn answered. "That way we can plan what we're going to do next."

"Sounds good to me." Misty agreed. Paul nodded as he went towards the door once again.

"I'll go and get her." Paul simply muttered, closing the door behind him. Ash, Dawn and Misty gave each other a quizzical look. Paul never volunteered for anything. Why all of a sudden did he decide to?

* * *

Paul walked to Irene's grandmother's backyard, still seeing the group of teens crowded around a girl that Paul was sure he never met. Paul stuffed his hands in his pockets, heading in their direction. Irene turned her head to notice Paul coming towards them, a smile appearing on her face.

"Well, look who joined the party." Irene pointed, causing the other teenagers to stare in that direction.

"I only came to tell you that dinner is ready. Your mom went with your dad to town to get some disinfectant for his leg." Paul explained in a monotone voice.

"Wait, what happened to my dad's leg?" Irene questioned. Paul considered telling Irene the truth about her dad being the one that attacked Ash, but he knew in his heart that she wouldn't believe him unless he had proof. After a moment of figuring out his answer, Paul let out a deep breath and sighed.

"He tripped while going for a jog in the woods." Irene seemed content with that answer, but Paul wasn't content with lying to her—even if he did dislike her. Paul focused his gaze on the girl that he had never met before in his life, raising his eyebrows before turning his attention back to Irene. "Who's this?"

"Paul, this is my cousin Debbie. Debbie, this is my traveling companion Paul." Irene introduced them. Debbie held out her hand for Paul to shake, but Paul just looked at it as if it was some magical foreign object.

"Was I supposed to take your hand or something?" Paul shrugged his shoulders.

"I can see why he's just your traveling companion." Debbie looked over to Irene.

"Why don't we all go inside and we have dinner." Paul expressed exasperation. "There's something that we need to discuss."

"What is it?" Brock wondered while the other teenagers finally had Paul's attention.

"Come on, we'll find out about now." Paul motioned the other teenagers into the house, but kept his eyes on Debbie. Ever since finding out that everyone wanted to lie and hurt everyone around him, he was having a hard time trusting every new face he saw. What if Debbie had worked for someone? What if she was betraying Irene just like Colress was? Paul entered the house with the others, noticing that he suddenly became the center of attention when everyone's eyes were on him.

"Okay, so now that you dragged us here, what was it that you wanted to talk about?" May crossed her arms. Paul motioned the teens to the living room, forcing them to sit down before continuing with his story.

"The story that Irene's grandmother told us, it was pretty important." Paul started. "Irene's grandfather knew where the fire crystal in Mt. Cornet was."

"He did?!" Max widened his eyes. "So why don't we go and ask him where it is?"

"We can't." Paul closed his eyes while crossing his arms. "He's dead."

"You could be a little more sensitive on the subject, Paul." Dawn pointed out; looking over at Irene's shocked face expression. Paul let out an infuriated sigh before continuing his point.

"The key to finding that crystal is if we use Irene's bracelet. Your grandfather found the bracelet in Mt. Coronet with his Magnemite." Paul kept his eyes fixed on Irene while speaking.

"So all we have to do is head to Mt. Coronet and find the crystal, right?" Irene questioned.

"Exactly." Paul nodded his head quickly, turning away from the coordinator.

"I had to be the one to burst your bubble," Ash spoke up, staring at the others. "But Mt. Coronet is huge. How are we going to find the small bracelet in such a big place?"

"We didn't think of that." Paul slapped his forehead with his hands.

"Each of us could cover a section of Mt. Coronet." Max suggested.

"But that would mean that one of us would need the bracelet." Dawn pointed out the small flaw.

"Well, we're all tired, so we might want to think about this when our brains are refreshed. I suggest we call it a night." Misty looked to her friends, who silently agreed.

"That sounds like a good idea. I wonder what my mom made for dinner." Irene got up from the sofa to head to the kitchen, the others following her to fill their stomachs. Ash however was stagnant, standing in the same place with his arms folded, as if he was in thinking overload. Dawn noticed, suddenly becoming concerned that he didn't follow the others.

"Hey, are you okay?" Dawn walked closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Ash didn't bother staring into Dawn's eyes, continuing to look out into space. After what seemed as an eternity of silence, Ash let out a deep breath, but keeping his eye contact to the wall.

"I just can't believe that Cilan betrayed me. I don't know whether to feel stupid or furious." Hearing Ash speak in such a demeaning tone scared Dawn, causing her to wrap her arms around him, although he didn't look like he wanted to be hugged.

"You are _not _stupid. Cilan tricked us all." Dawn tried to assure him.

"Yeah, but I traveled with him all through Unova." Ash turned his head to look into Dawn's eyes. "I traveled with him and believed he was my friend. To find out that he backstabbed me like that hurts. You wouldn't know what that's like. To have someone backstab you and everything turns out to be an entire lie."

"I think I do know what that's like. Did you forget Lucius?" Dawn raised her eyebrow, her expression turning serious.

"You mean your dad?" Ash sighed.

"Yes, and don't you dare say that it's different because it's not." Dawn's tone sounded serious, Ash wasn't even sure if he should argue with her at this point. He tried to look away from her but Dawn took one of her hands and cupped his cheek, forcing him to keep his eyes on hers. "Listen to me. Cilan isn't good enough to hang out with you if he's willing to hurt you. So just forget about that loser. He's not worth your time or energy."

"But what about Colress?" Ash blurted out. "What about what he did to me? He almost killed me because he wanted to find the crystals and he thought I was a threat! I'm a threat to everyone. I'm really regretting winning the Unova League! I should have tanked and let Trip win, even if it meant that he was a bigger threat than me."

"Please don't make me slap you across your face." Dawn furrowed her eyebrows, looking at Ash in an annoyed manner. "You deserved to win. You beat Trip and that's all there is to it. And you winning the Unova League has nothing to do with this."

"Yes it does." Ash broke Dawn's grasp from him, starting to head towards the door. "Because I won, Trip and your father kidnapped you, I became some obstacle for Colress, my friend backstabbed me along with his brothers and I almost died! So don't tell me that the Unova League had nothing to do with this! Because it did! It had _everything_ to do with this and it has everything to do with _us!_"

"What? How does winning the Unova League mean anything towards our relationship?" Dawn took a step back for a moment, not sure if she wanted Ash to continue what he was going to say.

"Ever since I won the Unova League, bad things had been happening to _us_! We haven't been honest with each other, you've constantly needed someone to save you and not only do I have to look out for myself but I also have to look out for you! I sometimes wonder to myself, maybe I should break up with you so that you won't get hurt but no matter what I do, in the end, I'm always the bad guy!" Ash let out shallow breaths afterwards, his face immediately turning apologetic for screaming at his girlfriend—and revealing his regrets in being in the relationship. Ash noticed Dawn turning her head away from him, walking to the kitchen hesitant of what to say next.

"I think you need to take a walk and cool down." Dawn muttered, heading into the kitchen while Ash stood there feeling more in a rut than he did five minutes ago. Ash took Dawn's words to heart, walking out of the house and closing the door behind him, wanting to spend some time alone and think over everything that had happened today.

* * *

Dawn entered the kitchen, noticing her friends were digging into some dinner that Irene's mother made, while she tried to pretend that she was content. Gary looked up, staring at Dawn with a concerned gaze, wondering if everything was all right.

"Dawn? Is everything okay?" Gary wondered. Dawn looked over to her friend, trying to keep up her expression, but in the end, Dawn found herself bursting into tears, cupping her hands over her eyes and letting out her true emotions. Everything in the room turned quiet as Dawn continued to sob, until Gary got up from his seat to walk over to her. The girls quickly joined Dawn's side as the young coordinator continued crying. The boys stared at Dawn in shock, uncertain if they should comfort her or if they should simply ask if she was okay. After contemplating, Gary placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder, not wanting to see the young coordinator cry.

"Dawn? Why are you crying?" Irene asked. After a moment, Dawn wiped her tears, staring at everyone around her.

"Ash doesn't want me." Dawn croaked out before feeling the tears stream down her cheeks once again.

"What do you mean he doesn't want you? Of course he does. He loves you." Gary tried to assure her, but Dawn shook her head, disagreeing with the researcher.

"No, he said that he's thought of breaking up with me ever since he won the Unova League." Dawn explained through her tears. "He said that ever since he won, we've been hiding secrets from one another and that he's felt the need to protect me all the time. He made it sound like I was some sort of burden." Dawn tried to stop crying, but the more she thought about it, the harder she sobbed.

"Dawn, you have to understand. Ash was almost killed today, trying to save your life." Paul piped up, causing everyone to turn towards him.

"So you're saying it's Dawn's fault that Ash is angry at everything?" Gary wondered.

"No, I'm just saying that everything he said, he might not have meant it." Paul shifted his gaze to Dawn, who momentarily stopped crying to hear his words. "He had been through a lot today. He found out his best friend was a traitor, a scientist he knew tried to murder him and he had to deal with the fear of losing you. I doubt he really wants to break up with you, but he probably was so frustrated with all that happened, he let out his anger on you."

"Look Dawn, I know Ash and he would never hurt someone's feelings on purpose. I'm sure it was one of those spur of the moment things, but right now he's in a state where he's conflicted with so many emotions that it might be hurting him inside. Now, I'm not saying he was right for making you cry, but he's under a lot a stress. The pressure to be perfect is immense and now he feels the world is on his shoulders. If there's anyone that he needs by his side, it's you." Gary looked at Dawn, giving her a rare heart-to-heart talk.

"I don't believe it, the scientist has a heart." Paul made a feeble attempt at a joke. Dawn ignored Paul and processed everything Gary was saying. After a moment of silence, Dawn nodded her head, a small smile appearing on her face.

"You're right Gary. Maybe I was overreacting a little bit, only because I thought Ash meant every word he said." Dawn looked towards the door, wondering where Ash could have gone. "I better find him."

"That's a good idea." Gary nodded his head, smiling at the coordinator. "Do you know where he went?"

"No, I don't know. Maybe he's sulking in the forest or something." Dawn shrugged her shoulders.

"Guys?" Irene walked over to the coffee table in the living room. "Has anyone seen my bracelet?"

"What do you mean?" Paul got up from the table to follow the young adolescent.

"My bracelet isn't here!" Irene began searching furiously, knocking over everything in sight.

"Why do you think someone wants your bracelet…?" Dawn wondered for a moment before her eyes went wide. "Wait a minute, Ash and the bracelet are missing…"

"Which means…?" Gary turned to Dawn, realization hitting the both of them.

"Ash went to go find the fire crystal on his own!" Paul yelled.

"We have to go and get Cynthia and Alder before Ash severely hurts himself." Zoey started running for the door with the others following.

"Why would he do something so careless…?" Dawn's mind began to race, wondering what could have caused Ash to do what he did.

"We'll split up and try to stop Ash before something bad happens." Gary said.

"Gary, why don't Debbie and I go with you, Paul and Dawn to find Ash? The rest of the team can go and get Cynthia and Alder and warn them." Irene suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Gary nodded his head, the others running to do their respective duties.

"We have to see if we can spot Ash before he reaches Mt. Coronet." Gary looked to Paul and Dawn. "Do either of you have flying Pokémon?"

"Honchkrow, Stand by!" Paul threw the Pokéball in the air, revealing the dark type bird Pokémon. Irene dug into her bag, staring at the bird Pokémon that seemed ever so elegant while finally retrieving her Pokédex.

"**Honchkrow, the Big Boss Pokémon and the evolved form of Murkrow. Honchkrow recruits many Murkrow to travel with it, and spends much of its time at home preening its feathers.**" Irene's Pokédex explained.

"Great, so now we know about Honchkrow, how about we use Honchkrow to find Ash?" Gary sounded a bit impatient.

"Good idea. Honchkrow, go and find Ash before he does something stupid and kills himself." Paul stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking at the Pokémon. Honchkrow circled around Paul before taking off, heading to see if he could find the Unova League Champion and his Pokémon.

* * *

The teenagers were unaware that they were being watched. Every move they made was being recorded in order for their enemies to have the next move on where to find the crystals. In the bushes, Lucius stared out, seeing his daughter go along with Gary, Paul, Irene and a girl he had never met before to find Ash. Lucius never understood what Dawn saw in Ash in the first place. Other than winning the league, he was a simple teenager that could barely amount to anything. Then again, he saw Ash as a threat. Once Ash put his mind to something, there was no telling what that teen could do. As Lucius continued to stare at the teenagers, he heard something behind him, something that caused him to turn around and see who was behind him. It was none other than Trip, heading towards the man.

"So, you called me?" Trip's lips curled into an evil grin.

"I have a job for you to do." Lucius crossed his arms, staring at Trip. "I need you to take Melanie and Conway to Mt. Coronet. I believe that there's something that belongs to us up there."

"And I think I know exactly what it is…"

* * *

Gary, Paul, Dawn, Irene and Debbie continued their trek towards Mt. Coronet, still on the search for their friend; uncertain what could have prompted Ash to go look for the crystal by himself. Dawn couldn't help but feel concerned, worried that Ash could have gotten himself in some danger. She needed to make sure that he was all right. She needed to work this small problem out with him.

"I'm beginning to get worried." Paul glared out at the sun, trying to see if he could spot his Pokémon. "I should have heard from Honchkrow by now."

"Maybe Honchkrow is having a hard time trying to find your friend." Debbie spoke up. Paul's face twisted in confusion, staring at the girl he barely knew.

"Irene, who _is_ she and why is she even here? She's not close to Ash." Paul scowled.

"This is my cousin, Debbie. I thought we discussed this already Paul." Irene knocked on Paul's head as if it were a door. Paul grimaced, pushing Irene away from him.

"She doesn't know Ash so why is she here?" Paul repeated his question.

"Does it really matter?!" Dawn stopped in her tracks, turning to the others. They had to admit, they had never seen Dawn in such a state before. She seemed frazzled, and almost as if she was going to have a nervous breakdown. "Right now, Ash is probably out there stressed beyond his mind, not thinking clearly, and trying to solve this on his own as if his problems are going to go away if he takes care of it. He needs us and you're not helping if you're going to argue about this like little children. Now can we please act our age and try to help him?! The last thing I want to see is Ash dead because of something stupid." Paul and Irene turned to one another, understanding where Dawn was coming from. Paul let out a sigh, nodding his head to the coordinator.

"Sorry." Paul apologized to no one in particular. Dawn turned back around; heading down the trail towards the mountain, hoping that she would find Ash in one piece. Dawn turned her attention to Gary walking ahead of the group, keeping his eyes fixed on Eevee, who was in the middle of trying to smell for clues.

"Eevee, do you see or smell anything?" Gary wondered. Eevee turned her head to her trainer, sadly shaking her head, afraid that she had failed him. Gary leaned down to pat the young Pokémon's head. "It's all right. I'm sure that we'll find him soon."

"We better…just so I can give him a piece of my mind!" Dawn clenched her teeth, making fists with her hands. "Why on earth would he do something like that?"

"Well, I guess we can ask him soon." Paul interrupted, pointing to the cave. "We're here." Dawn and Gary looked to one another, staring at Mt. Coronet.

"So now we have to go inside?" Irene piped up, staring at the cave ahead.

"It's the only way that we could find Ash." Dawn ventured off into the cave, the others contemplating whether they should follow her or not.

"All right, I guess we're going to have to go in there." Paul took a deep breath, following the young coordinator into the cave. The others slowly followed Dawn, in hopes that they would find the crystal and Ash—before it was too late.

"It's getting really dark in here." Irene looked around, fear evident in her voice.

"What's the matter Irene? Scared of the dark?" Paul teased.

"We'll shed some light on the situation, don't worry." Gary assured his friends. He took out a Pokéball from his belt clip and opened it up, revealing the electric type Pokémon Electivire. "Electivire, do you think you can light up the cave? It's getting dark in here." Electivire quickly did what his trainer asked, lighting the path up with its electricity, causing Irene to become more at ease.

"How are we going to find Ash if we don't have the bracelet to find the crystal?" Irene pointed out.

"We're still waiting for Honchkrow to get back, which could take forever." Paul sighed, looking ahead inside the cave.

"We can't risk sending out another Pokémon to look for Honchkrow or else Team Plasma could be here and know that we're here." Dawn continued to walk along the cage with Electivire following her. "Now, can we please get going?"

"We don't know where the fire crystal is?" Paul stated the obvious.

"Maybe there's a Pokémon in here that can lead us to the fire crystal." Gary suggested.

"What Pokémon would drop everything in order to help us find that fire crystal?" Irene wondered. Gary began to look around the cave before spotting multiple Magnetons' wandering throughout. Gary just hoped that these Pokémon were friendly.

"Excuse me!" Gary waved down the Pokémon. Paul's eyes widened, running over to stop the researcher, but it was too late. "Do you think that you can help us? We're trying to find the fire crystal." The Magneton glared at the teenagers, emitting electricity from their magnets, almost ready to strike.

"I don't think that they're willing to help us!" Paul grabbed Gary's collar, pulling him further into the cave.

"Run for your lives!" Irene yelled with Debbie and Dawn running after her. The Magneton continued to chase the teenagers, unsure of how much longer they could keep up the running game.

"This is why you don't talk to Pokémon that are wandering through caves!" Paul screamed, aiming his frustration towards Gary.

"I thought they would help us!" Gary retorted. Paul focused on Irene's cousin, giving her a hard glare.

"You haven't done anything to help us. Help us now, or I'll throw you to the Magneton!" Paul threatened.

"I have a better idea, why don't we throw _you_ to the Magneton." Irene shot back, protecting her cousin.

"How about we all shut up and think of a plan!" Dawn yelled.

"I have one." Debbie went into her bag to grab a Pokéball. "Misdreavus, use Screech!" A ghost type Pokémon popped out of the Pokéball, emitting a loud screeching noise towards the Magneton. Within a moment's time, the Magneton quickly vanished from the noise, allowing the teenagers to finally catch their breath.

"Thanks Misdreavus." Dawn spoke between breaths.

"And that is why we do not ask for directions from Pokémon that guard the cave." Paul shot a look to Gary, walking ahead. Paul noticed a Pokémon flying towards them, a Pokémon that looked rather familiar. "Honchkrow, did you find Ash yet?" Honchkrow perched himself on Paul's shoulders, using his wing to point in the direction he spotted the trainer. "All right, let's go and find Ash so I can give him a piece of my mind." Honchkrow flew off his trainer's shoulders, leading them to where they could find the fire crystal.

"I don't get it." Irene scratched her head, looking seemingly confused. "Why all this trouble for the fire crystal, and how does my bracelet know where it is?"

"Did your grandfather ever explain to you about the bracelet?" Paul questioned.

"No, he didn't." Irene admitted.

"Well, apparently according to your grandmother, your grandfather came in here with his Magneton, searching for something. He was a Pokémon Ranger and found the bracelet on the floor. That bracelet was able to locate where the crystal was, and eventually when he found the crystal, he hid it in a safe place so that no one would ever find it."

"I have one question though, why did Irene's grandfather hide the crystal?" Gary overheard the conversation.

"Maybe he found someone that wanted to use the crystal for evil?" Dawn suggested.

"Someone…someone like Team Plasma." Paul thought for a moment, looking over to Dawn. "I mean think about it, Team Plasma seems really into trying to get the crystal, so if they get the crystal then they can rule the world. Walter probably hid the crystal so the Pokémon World would be safe. He never would have thought after death that someone would still try to go after it."

"One other thing." Dawn added. "After Walter found the crystal and hid it, he got really sick and died. Something must have happened to him."

"Maybe he was old?" Gary suggested, thinking of the obvious, logical answer.

"He wasn't old. Not _that_ old." Paul shook his head.

"Maybe someone poisoned Walter." Dawn thought.

"Why would someone poison Grandpa?" Irene asked.

"Because your grandfather had something Team Plasma wanted. We can't forget that Team Electric might be after the crystal as well although they're off the grid at the moment." Paul answered. "It's just a theory, Irene. Maybe no one actually poisoned your grandfather, but it could be the truth. You never know." Irene thought about Paul's words as they continued walking. Someone could have murdered her grandfather because of the crystal. Was that even a liable theory?

"Look, there's Honchkrow!" Gary pointed out, seeing the Pokémon circling over what seemed to be a jagged cliff with a gigantic waterfall ahead.

"So that's where Ash is." Paul noticed Dawn running ahead of him, causing him to grab her wrist in order to pull her back.

"Paul, let go of me!" Dawn screamed, staring at the trainer.

"I'm not going to let you do something stupid. Stupidity is what got us here in the first place." Paul looked her in the eyes, keeping his grip on her wrist. Dawn knew that Paul wasn't going to relent, so she let out a sigh, nodding her head in agreement.

"You're right." Dawn sighed. Paul slowly eased his grip, still making sure that Dawn wasn't going anywhere. "So how are we going to get to Ash?"

"We'll just have to climb all the way up there. In fact, oh look. I see the knucklehead right now on that cliff with Pikachu." Paul used his free hand to point. Dawn turned her head, noticing that Ash and Pikachu were in the middle of a climb, and they had the bracelet with them!

"Let's go and follow him." Irene instructed, pulling her cousin along with her.

"Irene, do you mind telling me just what on earth are you doing?" Debbie glared at her cousin.

"Ash is my friend and I have to help a friend in need." Irene sounded certain in her decision.

"Does your mom know what you're doing?" Debbie wondered.

"Not one bit." Irene and Debbie continued their way to the cliff, thinking of ways to get up there to stop Ash from making a huge mistake.

"Do any of you have a Pokémon that can fly us up to where Ash is?" Dawn looked to Gary and Paul. They both sadly gave her a look that said that they couldn't be of any assistance. "So I guess that means that I'm going to have to climb up there myself and save him."

"Dawn, you can't be serious." Gary shook his head, staring into the coordinators eyes.

"Ash made it seem like I'm the one he has to save all the time. Well this time, he's the one that needs saving and I'm the only one that can help him!" Dawn freed her grasp from Paul's hand, trying to find an easy way to get to where her boyfriend was.

"Don't you think we should follow her?" Paul looked to Gary.

"As of right now, maybe we should let her try to figure this out on her own. She wants to help Ash in any way she can, so maybe this is the way for her to do it." Gary said.

"_I knew that I would find you brats here._" A voice that didn't sound familiar to either of them spoke out from behind them. Paul and Gary turned their heads, and that was when Paul recognized the man standing behind him. The man that stood behind them was the same man that he spotted in Area 28, in the hide out of Team Electric.

"I remember you." Paul pointed while Gary raised his eyebrow.

"_Ghetsis_." Gary spoke in an almost disordered tone.

"I'm surprised that you still remember me from our last encounter, children." Ghetsis cackled. "I know I didn't get a chance to defeat you young Gary Oak, but then again, I was only in the battle for the thrill."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gary sounded defensive.

"I wanted to test your strengths in battle. Seeing that you were willing to fight for your sister and girlfriend was rather _sweet_ and _amusing_." Ghetsis mocked the researcher. "After seeing all that you could do with your Eevee, I knew that it was time to go so I could plot my greatest plan ever."

"I thought you were just here for the fire crystal." Paul was confused himself.

"I was…but why can't I have a little _fun _along the way?" Ghetsis chuckled, taking a Pokéball out of his belt clip to throw.

"Electivire! Use Thunderbolt!" Gary yelled. Electivire quickly turned around, charging a gigantic thunderbolt and hit Ghetsis before he had a chance to attack the two teenagers.

* * *

While Ash and Pikachu continued to climb for the crystal, they didn't' notice that their friends were down below, trying to help them in their quest. Pikachu was about to climb the next cliff when he heard something. Pikachu twitched his ears, turning back down to find Paul and Gary fighting Ghetsis…and Dawn attempting to climb closer and closer to them.

"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu yelled to Ash. Ash turned around seeing Pikachu pointing over to one of the ledges in the cliff, following his Pokémon's hand. Ash spotted none other than Dawn, something that suddenly began to frighten him.

"Dawn?!" Ash spat out, staring over at the girl he loved. He wasn't expecting Dawn to even follow him, after what he said to her. Dawn looked up, noticing Ash looking right at her. Dawn observed she was one small cliff away from him, hesitant if she should jump or not. While staring at Dawn, Ash had almost forgotten why he was on the cliff in the first place, until he realized—it was to get the crystal and get one-step closer to ending this disaster. Ash attempted to climb on, but after taking one more look at Dawn, he realized that even though he wanted to, he couldn't do this on his own. He couldn't singlehandedly fight off Team Plasma, even if he wanted to. He needed her help. He needed _her_. Ash walked to the edge of the cliff, holding out his hand for her to take, Dawn immediately responding by taking his hand. Pikachu held onto Ash's legs, pulling him back so that Ash wouldn't topple over in trying to help her. As soon as Ash and Dawn were safely on the same ledge, Dawn stared into his eyes, wondering if she should say something first. Ash looked up, spotting the fire crystal just beyond his reach before staring back at Dawn. After a moment of silence, Ash tried to once again climb on the cliff, attempting to reach the top. "Dawn, I need your help! You have to push me up!" Dawn quickly did as Ash had asked, although she wasn't sure why she was doing it. After all, he made her feel like she was a liability. Dawn pushed Ash up, giving the trainer leverage in reaching more towards the top of the cliff. As soon as Ash made it to the top, he noticed the fire crystal was staring him in his face. He was one moment closer to getting the first crystal and moving on to the next location. Ash reached out to get the crystal—until a foot stepped on his wrist, causing him to yell out in pain. Ash opened his eyes to spot none other than Cilan, staring down at him with his arms folded. "Cilan!" Ash blurted out, feeling betrayed.

"Well Ash, it looks like we have met again." Cilan's expression didn't change as he continued to look down to his 'friend'.

"Cilan, why are you doing this?!" Ash looked up, feeling helpless. Cilan's face slightly changed, but into a more menacing look.

"Ash, you were my friend…but Ghetsis…is my _master_." With that, Cilan pushed Ash, causing him to lose his balance and fall.

"ASH! NO!" Dawn yelled, trying to grab onto him. Instead of saving him, Dawn fell off the cliff along with Ash, plunging to what looked to be their death. Cilan picked up the fire crystal, observing it for a moment before placing it in his pocket. His job had been complete. Step one of Cilan's plan: deceive his old friend, and annihilate him once and for all.

* * *

**A/N: It looks as if Ash's plan in finding the fire crystal on his own backfired severely as Cilan backstabs him, sending him and Dawn plunging to their deaths. Will this be the end of Ash and Dawn as we know it, or will someone save them? We'll find out next time on _Pokémon: The Electric Project!_**


	20. One Crystal Down, Two To Go

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, Ash went out to retrieve the fire crystal himself after an argument with Dawn, causing her and the others to go after him before he did something wreckless. But after finding their way through Mt. Coronet, they were greeted by Cilan, who had the red fire crystal in his possession. In order to keep Ash and Dawn from getting the crystal, Cilan pushed Ash and Dawn to what seemed to be their dooms. What will happen to our heroes? Read and find out!**

* * *

The teenagers watched in horror at the sight before them; Ash and Dawn spiraling towards the ground after Cilan had pushed them to what seemed to have been their deaths. Not only did Cilan try to kill them, but he also had the fire crystal, bringing Team Plasma one-step closer in taking over the Pokémon World. As Ash and Dawn continued spiraling down, they noticed that a Pokéball from Ash's belt clip came loose, falling to the ground quickly. Gary rushed over to pick up the Pokéball while Ghetsis recovered from the electric attack moments before. Gary looked at the Pokéball, noticing a flame symbol on it, in which all of a sudden, gave him the greatest idea of all time.

"This better work." Gary muttered to himself, throwing the Pokéball in the air. The Pokéball popped open, revealing none other than Charizard, who quickly saw his trainer falling to his doom. Charzard swiftly flew towards Ash and Dawn, catching them on his back while giving Ash his signature stare.

"Charizard! You saved us." Dawn sounded almost amazed.

"But how?" Ash elevated his eyebrows in shock. He then looked down below, seeing Gary holding up the Pokéball that Charizard originally came from. "Thanks Charizard." Ash turned his attention back to his old friend, causing the Pokémon to let out a roar.

"So what do we do now?" Dawn stared over at Ash, hoping that he would have some type of plan.

"What we're going to do now is get that fire crystal back from Cilan." Ash continued to stare at his former friend who was currently standing over the ledge.

"Do you have a plan on how to get the crystal back?" Dawn didn't want Ash to jump in and try to be the hero without a legit plan. That's what had got him in this mess in the first place.

"I'm thinking of one." Ash snapped, but immediately became apologetic. "Sorry, I'm thinking of one." Ash eased his tone a bit.

"Wait a minute. There's one of him and there's two of us," Dawn pointed to him and herself.

"Yeah? So?" Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"We can outnumber him, Ash." Dawn began to sound irritated. "Plus, he'll be outnumbered when it comes to Pokémon."

"That's right." Ash realized. Ash noticed Pikachu sitting on one of the cliffs before patting Charizard on his back. "Charizard, go and get Pikachu." Charizard responded with a growl, flying over to cliff to grab the electric Pokémon. Pikachu quickly climbed on Charizard's back, staring out at Cilan.

"Pika!" Pikachu pointed to the fire crystal. While Ash didn't have a plan, Pikachu had already thought of one.

"Do you think it will work Pikachu?" Dawn sounded skeptical of Pikachu's strategy. "I mean, it seems like almost a long shot."

"Pika! Pikachu, Pika! Pika!" Pikachu's face turned into steely determination, assuring Dawn that this could have been easily the best plan possible.

"All right." Dawn agreed, although her voice was filled with uncertainty.

"So first thing's first, we catch Cilan off guard." Ash continued to keep his eye on Cilan, seeing how he was all alone at the top of the cavern. "Should the other's know about the plan?"

"That would help. Put me down by Paul and Gary and I'll explain everything to them." Dawn said. Ash quickly nodded his head as Charizard flew down next to the trainers, allowing Dawn to jump off and gather Gary and Paul. Ash stared over at Ghetsis, noticing that the man was attempting to get up after being attacked by Electivire. While Ghetsis got back on his feet, Charizard stared him in the eye, prompting the leader to sit back down in shock.

"What on earth is this?!" Ghetsis sounded almost frightened.

"Meet Charizard, Ghetsis. He's here to make sure you _play nice_." Ghetsis scoffed at Ash's words, continuing to stare at the dragon Pokémon.

"Please, what's this Pokémon going to do? Use flame thrower on me?" Ghetsis cackled.

"No, because that would have been a little too predictable." Ash furrowed his eyebrows, giving Charizard a smirk. Charizard simply got down to Ghetsis's level, and flicked Ghetsis as if he was a piece of lint. Ghetsis rolled to the wall and hit it with a loud force, while Charizard let out a snicker. Charizard's moment was short-lived however, when he turned his head to see Cilan running for his life. "Looks like we're going after Cilan, Charizard." Charizard braced himself, bringing Ash and Pikachu along for the ride. Charizard spotted Cilan heading towards a cave but was able to stop in front of the entrance, causing the trainer to stare the dragon Pokémon in the eye. "Give us the red fire crystal, Cilan!"

"And why should I do anything that you say!" Cilan yelled, focusing his attention on Ash. "Besides, I thought I had ended you!"

"Well, then I guess that you thought wrong." Ash's voice sounded deadly.

"I guess I'm going to have to end you right here and right now." Cilan sounded eerily calm.

"Cilan, what happened to you?" Ash's voice came barely above a whisper. "You were my friend when we were traveling through Unova. And now all of a sudden, you're betraying me in order to help _Ghetsis?!_ I thought you had better character than that."

"You are in no position to judge my character!" Cilan bellowed. "After all, you've done some things that you aren't entirely proud of either. I've been watching you Ash, and I must say I am rather pleased with what you've become. You're deceitful, judgmental and you'll do anything to get what you want."

"That's not true." Ash quickly defended himself.

"So you didn't lie to your girlfriend, basically lie to everyone around you just so you could get this crystal? Just so you could look like the hero?" Cilan scoffed.

"I went to look for the crystal myself because I couldn't take it anymore. Ever since I won the Unova League, everything had been crashing down on me and I felt like I had to be the only person to fix it. You don't know what it's like to be me Cilan. I thought I could handle all this pressure, but in the end, it turns out that I feel like I'm going to fail everyone I ever cared about!" Ash felt his voice crack at the end of his sentence. When he mentioned everyone he ever cared about, the first person that popped into his head was Dawn. He thought about the argument that they had gotten into earlier in the day, and if he could make things right then he would. Ash let out a deep breath, once again wrinkling his eyebrows. "So I need you to hand over that crystal before you do something that you _will_ regret."

"I won't regret a thing Ash, trust me." Cilan sneered. "What do you think you're going to do? You think your Charizard and Pikachu are strong enough to take me on?"

"That was _exactly_ what I was hoping for." Ash emitted a low growl.

"Fine, if you think you could beat me then." Cilan went into his belt clip and pulled out a Pokéball. "Pansage, why don't we entertain our _friend_." Cilan released the Pokéball, letting out the green monkey Pokémon. "You know Ash; since you think you have so much to prove how about I let you go first. It could get rather exciting."

"That's fine." Ash turned his back towards Charizard who let out a menacing smile.

"Just one rule. You can't use Charizard." Cilan spoke up.

"Why? Are you afraid that Charizard will beat your Pokémon senseless?" Ash crossed his arms, speaking in a taunting tone.

"Fine, don't say I didn't warn you." Cilan smirked, looking over to his Pokémon.

"Now hold on a minute…" A voice that was neither Ash nor Cilan spoke. Ash and Cilan turned their heads to the figure that was on the other end of the cavern, the entrance that Charizard wasn't guarding. "You were going to get the party started without _me_? Well, that's not right." The figure walked forward, revealing to be none other than Trip.

"Trip! What are you doing here?!" Cilan shouted.

"Looks like I'm not the only one that had the same idea of trying to get the crystal from you." Trip ignored Cilan's question, staring directly at Ash. "Ash, Ash, Ash. You think just because you won the league that you're all that, don't you?"

"Just save it Trip." Ash gritted his teeth. "We all know that you're here working for Team Electric."

"And you know Ash, there is a funny thought." Trip crossed his arms, walking closer and closer to the teenage boy. "You seem to be a bit outnumbered."

"What are you talking about? You and Cilan are on different sides, remember?" Ash pointed to Trip and Cilan to make his point.

"Yes, we may be on different teams, but we both have the same goal, and that is to get rid of _you_ once and for all." Trip noticed Cilan eyeing the both of them, deciding to turn his head and let out a sigh. "Can I help you, you imprudent, injudicious excuse of a triad?"

"Gee, how long did it take you to come up with that saying? I'm so fascinated." Cilan rolled his eyes, feigning interest.

"For your information, it took me three days to figure out what to say to you. I've been watching the both of you, see?"

"Wait a minute, you've been watching us? How?!" Ash blurted out, noticing the both of them were observing his stunned demeanor.

"Ash, apparently I have eyes and I've been watching you." Trip stated the obvious.

"No, I mean who told you where I was. How did you know where to find us?!" Ash wanted information.

"I'm afraid I cannot disclose that." Trip turned to Cilan, walking over with his hand out. "Now if you will give me the fire crystal, I will gladly be on my way."

"Did you really think that you were going to get the fire crystal like that, Trip?" Cilan burst into laughter, wiping his pretend tears.

"It was worth a try." Trip shrugged his shoulders, before getting back to the matter that was at hand. "Well then, if you don't give me the crystal, then I'm afraid that I'm going to have to pry it out of your cold, dead, carcass." Ash turned his head to Charizard, giving him a nod of his head, letting him know it was okay to do what he had to do. Charizard released a gigantic flamethrower towards the two arguing enemies, causing Cilan to drop the crystal as it fell down to the bottom of the cliff.

"The crystal!" Cilan looked over the edge before turning his head back to Ash. Pikachu and Charizard quickly ran over to Ash's aid, equally showing their annoyance and their anger. Pikachu's cheeks started to light up with electricity. The flame on Charizard's tail intensified, showing it's anger to the minions of Team Electric and Team Plasma.

"The crystal is the least of your worries right now." Ash's lethal tone returned. "Now, I'll let you choose how you're going to suffer in pain. You either can get shocked by Pikachu who has over 50,000 volts or get burned by Charizard which I should tell you isn't a fun experience if you make him mad. Now, what's it going to be?" Before anyone could answer, the ground started to rumble, equaling the three enemies to face one another in confusion.

"All right, what's going on here?" Trip yelled at Cilan.

"This isn't us!" Cilan turned to Ash.

"Most definitely not me." Ash answered back. Ash's first intention was to look over the cliff to see if his friends were all right, but one false move and he could go overboard all over again. Ash looked over at the entrance to the cave, noticing a bright orange light coming towards them. Whatever was heading towards Ash didn't look friendly, and Ash was about to find out the hard way for disturbing its slumber. The figure appeared before Ash, Trip and Cilan, glowing a bright orange and revealing to be a bird Pokémon, and that Pokémon was none other than the legendary Pokémon, Moltres.

"I don't believe it." Trip whispered.

"That's Moltres." Cilan's eyes widened while Ash stared at Charizard and Pikachu.

"Pika, Pika…" Pikachu muttered. This most definitely wasn't a part of the plan. The gang didn't even know that Moltres was going to be here.

"I think it's time that I get the crystal for Team Plasma and get out of here." Cilan smirked, running towards the end of the cliff to find out where the crystal had landed, but he didn't get very far when he noticed Dawn and Irene on Irene's Altaria with Dawn holding the crystal in her hand. "Well, this should be like taking candy from a baby. What's a young _girl _going to do about us taking the fire crystal?" Dawn shook her head, emitting a smile towards Cilan.

"There's something that you don't know Cilan. I'm not just an ordinary girl. If you forgot, my mom's a top coordinator and my boyfriend is the Unova League Champion. I had to have learned something from either one of them." Dawn took out a Pokéball, throwing it up in the air. "Pachirisu, use discharge!" An electric squirrel Pokémon came out of the Pokéball, staring over at Trip and Cilan, it's cheeks lighting up with blue electricity.

"It looks like we're going to have to fight fire with fire. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt." Ash instructed his friend. Pikachu's cheeks started emitting yellow electricity, hitting both Cilan and Trip in one blow. Pachirisu emitted his electricity moments later, sending the two minions from Team Electric and Team Plasma blasting off into the air. As Cilan and Trip disappeared, Ash and Dawn stared at one another with Dawn giving her boyfriend a feeble shrug.

"I guess we sent them off Team Rocket style." Dawn let out a small smile towards him.

"We should probably copyright that. That way, Team Rocket would have to feel of some importance." Ash released his own grin, joking along with her. Ash and Dawn almost forgot about Moltres, who was currently in a staring contest with Ash's Charizard. Ash broke eye contact with Dawn, heading over to talk to the legendary Pokémon. "Hi Moltres. Look, I know that it looks bad, but all I want to do is protect the crystal from Team Electric and Team Plasma. They want to use the crystal for bad things, which could end the Pokémon world, and all I want to do is help you. So will you please let me help you save the world of Pokémon? If they ever find the rainbow crystal then you will cease to exist, as you know it. The only way to save you is if you let me take this crystal. As soon as we stop them for good, I promise that I will return it." Moltres continued to look at Ash, as if the Pokémon was observing him. After a moment of contemplating, Moltres nodded its head in agreement, the anger in its face vanishing. Moltres bent its head towards Ash, allowing the trainer to pet it in reassurance. Ash and Moltres gave each other a warm smile before Ash started walking off with Charizard and Pikachu in tow. Charizard turned back around, noticing that Moltres's face had hardened towards it, clearly not appreciating the staring contest that happened moments before. Charizard relented, turning back around to walk with his trainer. Charizard picked up Ash and Pikachu while Altaria led Irene and Dawn back to the ground, where Gary and Paul were currently watching over Ghetsis.

"So, did you get the crystal after you singlehandedly almost blew our chances?" Paul harshly asked Ash. Deep down, Ash knew that Paul was right. Because of him, both Team Electric and Team Plasma would have gotten away with the crystal. But luckily he was able to learn from his mistake and prevent a catastrophe from happening—for now.

"Yeah, I got the crystal." Ash turned to Ghetsis, his eyebrows furrowing. "So what are we going to do about him?" As if on cue, Charizard walked over to pick up the man that looked to have been the second in command of Team Plasma, and threw him up in the air, in the same hole that Trip and Cilan had blasted off in moments before.

"Well, that looks like it answers your question." Gary stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring over at Ash. Ash suddenly felt guilty, turning to Irene with an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry I took your bracelet Irene. I thought that I could have stopped Team Plasma on my own, but then I didn't calculate that Team Electric would have been here." Ash held the bracelet for Irene to take. After a moment of thinking over whether or not to accept Ash's apology, she took the bracelet and flashed him a grin.

"At least you got the crystal. And I have to admit, your Charizard is ultra-killer." Irene gaped over the fire type Pokémon.

"Thanks, we've been through a lot together." Ash patted Charizard on the side while the Pokémon beamed. Charizard turned to his owner, unleashing a gigantic flamethrower to let him know that he was happy to have been used by him once again—and as a punishment for almost losing the crystal the first time. "Okay, I guess I deserved that." Ash grimaced while looking at his Pokémon, who simply let out a grin.

"Yeah, you did." Paul shrugged his shoulders but then let out a small grin, which was odd even for Paul. "But at least you made our job a little easier and now we only have to find two more crystals."

"The water one and the electric one, in which the electric one is the key to this whole ordeal." Gary added on.

"So which one do we find next?" Dawn wondered.

"I would suggest that we go and we find the water crystal. But we're going to have to ask Cynthia and Alder where the location is." Gary turned his attention to Ash who suddenly looked remorseful again.

"That means that I have to own up to my mistake." Ash let out a sigh.

"Mistake or not, we have the crystal." Paul tried assure him. "As long as we have the crystal, you won't get in humungous amounts of trouble."

"Not by Cynthia and Alder I won't." Ash admitted, turning his attention to Dawn. "But by my mother, I'll be grounded forever. I just hope Cynthia and Alder haven't told her—yet."

"Well then, I guess that we better head back to Irene's house in order for you to own to your mistakes." Irene's cousin Debbie popped out of nowhere and added.

"All right, just _who_ are you?!" Paul yelled. The others ignored Paul's shouting match with Debbie as they headed towards the exit of Mt. Coronet. One crystal down, two to go.

* * *

Ash and the others had reached Irene's house by the time that it had gotten completely dark. By observing out the window, Ash noticed Cynthia and Alder pacing while the girls (plus Brock and Max) looked as worried as ever. Ash ran his fingers through his hair, afraid of how he was going to approach this. Ash didn't expect Dawn to put a hand on his shoulder, which slightly eased him.

"I'll go in there with you. That way you won't be on your own when you get mobbed with questions." Dawn suggested. Ash stared over at her, seeing her sapphire eyes glisten in the moonlight. Ash continued to stare at his girlfriend before taking her hand and letting out a sigh.

"All right, I can do this." Ash sighed. Ash and Dawn slowly entered the house while Cynthia, Alder and the girls turned towards the doorway. Misty got up from the sofa, walking over to her longtime friend. At first, she gave him a small smile as he showed the crystal that was in his pocket—and then she slapped him hard on his arm. "OUCH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Ash yelled.

"That was for worrying us, you jerk!" Misty yelled. "You don't realize that what you did was completely irrational, stupid and to top it all off, dangerous!"

"At least I got the crystal." Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, you could have been a little more careful next time." May traversed her arms, walking over to her friend.

"What if you needed our help?" Brock spoke up.

"What if you were killed?" Max added.

"Well, I wasn't. I got the crystal. I'm sorry if I worried you, but I felt like this was something that I needed to do." Ash sighed. He turned to Cynthia and Alder, ready to accept whatever punishment they were willing to give him. Instead of Alder and Cynthia being mad, they simply smiled at him.

"Well, as long as you're all right Ash. That's all that matters." Cynthia said.

"And as long as you got the crystal." Alder added. Ash showed the Sinnoh and Unova Champions the crystal, which Cynthia took into her hands, placing it in one of the pouches that she carried.

"But next time, if you're going to go and get the crystal, you might as well let us come and help you." Cynthia said.

"I promise." Ash nodded.

"Well, now that the fire crystal has been obtained, it's time for us to get the water crystal." Alder said, the teenagers' all staring at him. "Oh, Dawn. You might want to let the others in so they can hear this. I know they were standing outside in case we got into a yelling match with their friend." Dawn nodded her head, opening the door for Gary, Paul, Irene and Debbie.

"It's okay, you can come in now." Dawn assured them. Gary and Paul nodded their heads, entering the room while Irene and Debbie stood by the doorway.

"Now, the water crystal is located in Hoenn. Sootopolis City." Adler said while the others stared at him.

"Where it Sootopolis City?" Paul raised his hand to ask.

"It's located in a crater that was formed by a volcano. There's a tale that many years ago, an underwater volcano erupted and forced itself from the depths to create a crater. The crater emerged from the sea and became filled with rainwater. One of the few ways to get there is either to dive in the underwater cavern or to fly. It's also said that Sootopolis has a great nighttime view." Max recited as if it was almost from memory.

"That's correct Max." Cynthia applauded. "That means to get there; we're going to need water Pokémon."

"Which probably isn't a bad thing for Buizel since he stowed away from the lab with Bulbasaur." Dawn mentioned to Ash. Ash let out a weak laugh, staring at his friends.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm going to forget that." Ash looked over to Dawn while Cynthia nodded her head.

"Now, I suggest that we eat before we hit the hay. Tomorrow we have to leave bright and early if we're going to want to catch the next ferry to Hoenn." Alder instructed.

"Sounds like a good idea." Dawn nodded her head while the others agreed. Dawn started to walk to the kitchen to see if Irene's mother still had some food left over from earlier, while Ash simply stared at her. Paul walked over to Ash, giving him a knowing look.

"You might want to talk to Dawn about the argument you guys had earlier." Paul suggested.

"Is there a reason why?" Ash wondered, shaking his head in confusion.

"Well, because after you stormed out when you _brilliantly_ decided to get the fire crystal on your own." Paul took that moment to rub everything in. "Dawn entered the kitchen while we were eating, and she started crying because she thought that you didn't care about her." Hearing Paul's words made Ash feel guilt-ridden all over again.

"She did?" Ash could barely speak.

"Not only that." Misty walked up from behind to give Ash some more insightful details. "Did Dawn ever tell you what she wanted to get you for your birthday?"

"No, she never told me." Ash shook his head, thinking back. "She kept telling me how she wanted to get me something amazing but she never went into details. Do you know what it is?"

"I don't." Paul honestly said, but after seeing Misty looking hesitant on whether to tell Ash, his eyes widened. "Misty, do you know anything about what Dawn wanted to get Ash for her birthday?"

"This is kind of an embarrassing subject to say aloud." Misty leaned over to Ash's ear in order to whisper incoherent words. Ash's eyes widened at Misty's answer as he turned his head in surprise.

"That's what she wanted to get me?" Ash said almost a little too loud.

"Shh…she wanted to be the one to tell you." Misty instructed. Ash looked over to Dawn who was still in the kitchen, talking to Brock and Zoey about the latest encounter with Team Plasma, and how she was gushing over Ash's Charizard. Ash found himself in a love-struck daze, staring over at her as if she were a priceless jewel. "So do you want to know what I think?"

"What do you think?" Ash asked after taking a moment.

"I think you should try to get to say it." Misty said. "I mean, get the ball rolling. If you want, you could talk to her in private." Ash thought about Misty's words for a moment before nodding his head in agreement.

"All right, I think I'll do that." Ash agreed. Ash walked over to the kitchen while Paul headed next to Misty, watching his once rival make a move.

"So what was that you were mumbling about?" Paul wondered. Misty let out a small grin, placing her hand in Paul's while gazing into his eyes.

"I don't think that's important to know right now." Misty assured him. "It's between Ash and Dawn. But you know, I saw some stars in the sky earlier. Why don't we go out to Irene's backyard and see if we could find different types of Pokémon in the sky?" If someone had asked Paul this question six months ago, he would have given a hard laugh followed by a rude no. Now, it was one of his favorite things to do, with Misty at least.

"You're on carrot top." Paul affectionately said. "I bet I can find more Pokémon in the sky than you can."

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that." Misty spoke as she led Paul to the back so they could stargaze together.

* * *

Ash entered the kitchen, seeing that Dawn was knee deep in a conversation. He folded his arms, watching patiently as Zoey and Brock listened to every word Dawn had said. Dawn noticed Ash from the corner of her eye, giving him a smile, while Zoey and Brock greeted Ash warmly by inviting him in the discussion.

"Hey, do you mind if I talk to Dawn for a moment?" Ash questioned. Brock and Zoey gave each other a quizzical look before nodding their heads in agreement.

"Sure." Zoey smiled, but before either of them could leave, Ash grabbed Dawn's arm and led her out of the kitchen. Ash led Dawn to the guest room that Karissa had given them for the night, closing the door behind him.

"Was there something that you wanted to talk to me about?" Dawn wondered. Ash walked closely to Dawn, snaking his hand around her waist.

"I'm sorry." Ash apologized, placing his forehead on hers. "I'm sorry for making you cry."

"Wh…what?" Dawn croaked out, staring into Ash's eyes.

"Misty told me that you cried after our argument in which I stormed out." Ash explained, placing one of his hands on her cheek. "That was the last thing I ever wanted to do to you, to make you cry."

"I was overacting when I was crying; it's not your fault." Dawn tried to assure him, but Ash wasn't satisfied with her answer.

"I don't want to be one of those guys that make you cry because I say something that's hurtful. Look, you aren't a burden. I guess that I had so much pressure on my shoulders that I said all the wrong things." Ash shook his head, seeing Dawn was still staring deep into his eyes. "You make me feel alive inside Dawn. I never understood what being in love felt like and lately, I've known what it feels like—because I met you." Dawn felt tears come to her eyes, not even bothering to wipe them away. "Dawn, you don't have to cry." Ash assured her, but she shook her head, a smile appearing on her face.

"Ash, I'm not crying because I'm sad." Dawn explained. "I'm crying because that was the sweetest thing you've ever said. No one has ever told me that, and honestly, I didn't know you had it in you to say something so mushy."

"Well, I do." Ash playfully rolled his eyes, causing Dawn to give him a wide smile.

"You don't have to apologize for what happened earlier. Can't we just put it behind us?" Dawn wondered.

"Gladly." Ash agreed. Ash continued to stare at Dawn for a minute, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What?" Dawn automatically sensed that Ash was being too quiet.

"I don't know what I did to deserve such a girl like you." Ash shook his head. "I feel so lucky."

"_You_ feel lucky?" Dawn broadened her eyes. "I…I feel lucky! I sometimes wonder what it is you see in me."

"I see someone that makes me want to challenge myself every day." Ash admitted. "You make me want to be a better person, and there is no one in the world that I would rather be with. I don't need anyone else Dawn. All I need is you. They say that it could take a lifetime to find _the one_, but I think I already found her." Dawn wrapped her arms around Ash's neck, engulfing him in a sweet, loving kiss. The kiss began to turn passionate; with Dawn hoping that she was playing this right. This was how she pictured telling Ash that she wanted _him_, how she didn't have to second guess her decision, that she knew that he was the one that she wanted to give herself up for. Dawn broke the kiss for the moment, her breath sounding shaky.

"There's something that I need to tell you." Dawn slightly whispered while staring into Ash's eyes.

"I know." Ash said.

"You do?" Dawn slightly gasped.

"Yep." Ash continued to look into his eyes, almost certain that this was the moment he was waiting for. "But, I want you to tell me what it is." Dawn continued to stare into Ash's eyes, wondering if she should make the move. What should she do? She had never been in this kind of situation before. Dawn took one deep breath and while staring into her boyfriend's eyes, she undid the buttons on his vest, before taking it off and throwing the vest to the floor. Ash let out a small smile before pressing his lips to Dawn's, holding her tightly, before removing his lips and placing his forehead on hers. "Are you sure this is what you want?" Dawn didn't even have to think twice about Ash's question.

"Of course." Dawn said with a smile, removing Ash's cap before giving him a passionate kiss, to let him know that this was the time to take the next step in their relationship.

* * *

Irene sat outside of her house staring out at the sky. She was still processing everything that was going through her mind, and still contemplating whether she should tell her mother what was going on. Her mother had the right to know about what happened on Mt. Coronet, but she figured that maybe this would have been a great time to stay quiet about everything. As Irene looked up into the sky, she heard a rustling come from the bush, which somewhat startled her. Irene stood up from the steps, walking over to the bush before letting out a shriek. When she backed away, the figure that came out was Cress, a person that Irene was hesitant to trust.

"Cress, what are you doing here?" Irene wondered. "Shouldn't you be back with Team Plasma, trying to locate the fire crystal?"

"I should, I suppose." Cress sounded calm, walking over to Irene with a smile. "But, there was some business that I had to take care of first."

"Like what?" Irene scoffed, turning her head and walking back to the door.

"I want you to join Team Plasma!" Cress yelled out, causing Irene to turn around.

"What?" Irene spat out.

"I want you to join Team Plasma. Think about it Irene, together you and I could be the most powerful duo that ever existed." Cress tried to convince her.

"Why would I want to join Team Plasma?" Irene started heading back towards the house. "You plan on using the Pokémon World for evil! You plan to wipe out all of the important creatures that live among us. And for what? For power? For greed? No thanks. I already have my team and it's to stop the likes of you and Team Electric from ever reaching your goals!" Cress continued to stare at Irene, before his eyebrows creased in anger.

"Fine, if you won't join me, then consider this friendship over. The next time I see you, I will battle you as strongly as my brothers will!" Cress turned around and ran back into the bushes. Cress didn't notice Irene holding on to the locket around her neck, and tears streaming down her face, upset that her fears became a reality. That her friendship with Cress—was shattered and broken.

* * *

**A/N: It looks like our heroes were successful in getting the fire crystal with Dawn and Ash finally taking their relationship to a new level. But it wasn't a happy ending for them all as Irene now has to deal with Cress as her enemy. And now, our heroes must focus on retrieving the water crystal from Sootopolis City in Hoenn. What will happen on our heroes journey to find the Water Crystal? Coming up on _Pokémon: The Electric Project!_**


	21. Moving On

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, they had succeeded in retrieving the fire crystal from both the Shadow Triads and from Trip who were working for Team Plasma and Team Electric. Now our heroes must go to Sootopolis City, in order to retrieve the Ice crystal in their second step to save the Pokémon world. What will happen on their journey to find the ice crystal? Read to find out!**

* * *

Very early the next morning, Dawn headed down the stairs as quietly as she possibly could, hoping not to wake anyone up. However, once she reached the kitchen, she realized she wasn't the only one that was awake. Paul, Irene and Gary were in the kitchen, each of them drinking a cup of coffee. Dawn stared at Irene who stood up from the chair, pouring Dawn a cup and motioning her to sit down.

"Good morning Dawn!" Irene exclaimed with a smile. Dawn sat in the chair grabbing the cup of coffee with a grin.

"Thank you, Irene." Dawn beamed, taking the cup of coffee in her hand and adding milk and cream.

"So Dawn, someone seems in a good mood this morning." Gary spoke up, however he did a double take when he realized Dawn's hair wasn't down as usual—it was stuck up in a ponytail. An unkempt ponytail but a ponytail nonetheless.

"Yep, I just feel so lucky, you don't even know." Dawn smiled. "I feel as if I'm in bliss. Do you know what it's like when you believe that you finally found _the one_?"

"Please don't tell me you're getting married." Paul shuddered.

"I'm not getting married Paul, don't worry." Dawn assured him. "But if I was crazy enough to get married now, which I'm not—what would be the reason to say no?"

"For one thing, you're sixteen. For another thing, you're sixteen. And finally, _you're sixteen!_" Paul stressed.

"I just love seeing you get worked up." Dawn chuckled, leaning back in her chair slightly.

"Well, it's working." Paul sighed, looking down at his cup. "But like Gary said, you are in a good mood. What's up?"

"Oh nothing…" Dawn put the cup down on the table playing coy.

"Something happened, spill!" Irene looked at Dawn, noticing that she was giving her friend a goofy grin.

"Let me see if I can put this together." Paul raised an eyebrow, giving Dawn a smirk. "You weren't too happy last night, then Ash went to talk to you. He must have said something that made you super happy. This again brings me back to my thought that he proposed to you since he would be stupid enough to do so at his age."

"And you are _so_ wrong Paul, but I have to admit that I love playing the guessing game with you." Dawn giggled. The guessing game came into a halt when Ash entered Irene's kitchen, staring over at his friends and giving Dawn a bright smile.

"Good morning." Ash said, leaning in to give Dawn a kiss. Dawn wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck, turning what was supposed to be a simple good morning kiss into something passionate. Dawn removed her lips from Ash's after a moment, nuzzling her nose against his before moving her hands to his cheeks.

"Good morning." Dawn smiled, staring into Ash's chocolate eyes. Gary's eyes widened while Paul elevated his eyebrow.

"So _that's_ what went on last night. A lot of kissing I see." Paul sounded almost revolted.

"Oh please, you're being hypocritical." Dawn scoffed.

"And how am I being a hypocrite?" Paul questioned.

"How many times have you possibly kissed Misty, Paul?" Dawn became nosy. Paul rolled his eyes, turning back to his coffee.

"Well, I think I have a good idea on what went on last night, but since that's your business, I'll stay out of it." Gary shrugged his shoulders, looking through the paper.

"Thank you." Dawn got up from the chair, planting a kiss on Ash's cheek before leaving the room to get ready for the day. As soon as Dawn left, Paul and Gary gave Ash a smirk, letting him know that they knew everything, Ash decided to play coy, pretending he had no idea what Gary and Paul were insinuating.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Because we know what happened between you and Dawn last night." Paul chuckled.

"Well, at least you made Dawn smile. She looked a little down yesterday." Gary added.

"All right, can we please stop talking about it?" Ash sat at the table staring over at the boys.

"All right, all right. We'll leave you alone." Gary chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "For now."

"Now, let's get back to the mission at hand and think about how we're going to get to Sootopolis to get the Ice Crystal." Ash changed the subject. "We should probably get the others up."

"Oh, Ash." Irene piped up, causing the boys to turn their heads towards the young trainer. "I was wondering if it would be okay if my dad came along. I think he could be a good help in finding the crystals." Irene didn't notice but at the mention of Colress, the boys tensed up, giving one another wary glances.

"Um, well…" Ash looked down at the table, trying to find a way to say that Colress wasn't wanted

"Gary? Ash? Can I speak with you outside the kitchen for a moment?" Paul put his cup down on the counter, leading the other two boys out of the room. "Irene, you stay here." The boys scurried out of the kitchen, but Irene noticed that something was amiss.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Gary sounded almost worried. "She wants Colress to come with us."

"It's simple, we just say no." Paul raised an eyebrow towards the researcher. "I'm pretty sure that Irene would understand."

"There's only one problem." Ash pointed out. "Irene's father is the one that's working with Team Plasma. If we tell her that, she won't believe us and she'll think that we just don't like him."

"Well we have to do something." Paul sounded a bit frustrated. "I don't like the idea of a guy who almost killed you coming along with us. He almost killed you once, what's going to stop him from doing it again?"

"Well, if we keep an eye on him…" Gary started to say.

"No." Paul firmly answered. "He is not coming with us and that is final. Now I have to head back into the kitchen before Irene thinks that we're talking about her again."

"But we _are_ talking about her." Ash stated. Paul rolled his eyes and turned away, going towards the kitchen to see Irene.

"That's not the point." Paul entered the kitchen, surprised to find Irene still sitting there while petting Eevee on her head. Paul had to admit that it was almost cute that Irene was bonding with a Pokémon that wasn't hers—almost. "What are you doing?" Paul wondered.

"I was just playing with Eevee." Irene said in almost a reminiscent tone. "I wish that I had an Eevee too. They look like so much fun."

"Yeah, well there's one problem with that." Paul said. "Not all Eevee are the same. This one is super friendly but you might meet one that's disobedient to everyone around it. I would just say to keep dreaming."

"You know, your advice never helps. Instead it upsets me all the time." Irene pointed out.

"That's my job Irene, to put a damper on your dreams." Paul sarcastically quipped, sitting down in one of the chairs that was farthest from Irene.

"So can my dad come and help us find the ice crystal?" Irene asked. Paul turned towards Irene, his face expression softening.

"Irene, I don't know if that's a good idea." Paul said in a soft tone.

"And why is that?" Irene wondered. "He's a scientist and I'm sure he'd be interested in trying to figure out the key to the Electric Project."

"We have Daisy and Gary for that." Paul simply answered. "Anyway, you don't want your father getting hurt now, do you? He could get killed since this is a dangerous mission." Irene looked to Paul, feeling as if there was something he wasn't telling her, but decided to shrug it off. She had been feeling a little sensitive lately since Cress broke their friendship, so maybe what she was worrying about wasn't really anything. "So do you understand why he can't come?"

"But I promise I'll look after him Paul, I really promise." Irene sounded more determined. Paul let out a groan, seeing that Irene wasn't getting the picture.

"Irene." Paul simply said.

"But I'll look after him, please?" Irene almost begged. Paul felt a little stuck here. Irene wouldn't leave him alone unless he said yes, on the other hand he knew that Colress was working for Team Plasma and if he said yes everyone would think that he was crazy.

"Can I think about it?" Paul simply asked after a moment of contemplating.

"Fine, you can think about." Irene got up from the table, heading to leave the kitchen. "But I hope you know that this would mean a lot to me. I know we're not friends like that, but I'd be grateful if you did this one thing for me." Irene headed off and left the room, while Paul let out a sigh of defeat. He didn't want Irene to think that he was a bad guy for not letting Colress come along, but he didn't want to betray his other friends either. What was he to do?

* * *

"She asked you if he could _what_?" Misty exclaimed. After spending some time on trying to figure out what to do, Paul figured that Misty was the best person that he could talk to about this problem, so he asked Misty to meet him outside near the woods so they could discuss. It was only a matter of time before Misty would overreact about the whole conversation he had with Irene.

"She asked if Colress can come along." Paul repeated. "If I say no to Irene then she'll think something's up, but if I say yes to her, that's basically stabbing Ash in the back after Colress purposely tried to kill him with Magnezone."

"Well, he can't come." Misty shook her head, trying to get Paul to see it her way. "If he does come then Ash will hate you and he'll never feel safe. It's bad enough we have Dawn's dad traveling with us. Do we really want to make it more awkward and have Colress there as well?"

"Lucius isn't a threat." Paul simply stated, however Misty didn't seem to sure.

"Ash still thinks that Lucius is a threat." Misty said. "And frankly, I think he is a threat as well. I doubt anyone could turn over a new leaf like that. Not even Team Rocket could do it and they're a bunch of bumbling idiots."

"Yeah, I guess." Paul thought about it for a moment, then remembering the conversation topic. "But we have to do something about Colress. What if he does want to come to only keep an eye on Ash? Ash is the Unova Champion so he's a threat to him. I just don't want to see something bad happen to Ash because of a decision I made."

"And nothing bad is going to happen to Ash, and do you know why?" Misty questioned. Paul raised his eyebrow while Misty's face became serious. "Because Colress isn't coming. That's what you're going to do. Simple enough?" Paul nodded his head in agreement, then gave Misty a small smile.

"You're just as hard headed as I am. I like that." Paul felt his cheeks redden at his revelation.

"And I like that you like that." Misty's face turned into a smile, her cheeks reddening. Paul continued to stare at Misty, his heart beating faster and his eyes fixated on her. After a moment of silence, Paul cleared his throat and started to walk back towards the house, looking back to Misty with a grateful grin.

"Thanks for hearing me out." Paul thanked her.

"Anytime." Misty felt her cheeks turning into a darker shade of red as Paul went back into the house. As Paul walked away, he realized that he knew he liked Misty more than a friend. But after that conversation and realizing how beautiful she was inside and out, that was when he knew that he didn't just like her—he was in love with her. But as strongly as he felt for Misty, he couldn't bring himself to say those three words, in fear that she wouldn't say those words in return.

* * *

"All right, we need to be able to find Wallace once we get to Sootopolis." Alder instructed as everyone looked over to him. "So we might want to get going before it gets dark."

"And we'll get there soon enough, don't worry." Cynthia gave her friend a smirk while turning back to the teenagers. "We should get going, so let's gather everyone up and start heading out."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Alder agreed. The teenagers started heading towards the house in order to thank Karissa for her hospitality but Dawn had another plan in mind. She had to find Lucius in order to tell him that they were heading off to Hoenn at that moment. Dawn started to look around for her father, something that Ash and Pikachu noticed. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and walked over to Dawn, raising one of his ears in interest.

"Pikachu?" Pikachu looked up to Dawn, seeing that she was still looking around in confusion.

"Oh, I'm fine Pikachu." Dawn assured the electric Pokémon. "I'm just looking for my dad is all." Dawn continued to look around but when Ash realized what Dawn was looking out for, his mind began to race. He remembered that back Mt. Coronet Trip was there to attempt to take the fire crystal, but the only issue was how Trip found out about where Ash was at that moment. It didn't take long for Ash to piece everything together.

"Dawn, I figured out how Trip knew where we were!" Ash blurted out, causing Dawn to turn around with an interested look.

"How did he find out where we were?" Dawn asked, walking over to her boyfriend with interest.

"I remember Trip saying something about how he had eyes watching us in order to give him the location of the fire crystal. Dawn, your father is still working for Team Electric. He's been pretending to work for us the whole time." Dawn continued to look at Ash who seemed convinced about the whole ordeal.

"Are you sure?" Dawn didn't sound entirely convinced.

"I'm positive." Ash nodded his head, staring at his girlfriend. "How else would Trip know about where we were?" Dawn continued to process what Ash was telling her, and after a moment her eyebrows furrowed in anger. What if Ash was right? What if Lucius only joined them in order to get information on the crystals so Team Electric could swoop in and take over the world before Team Plasma had a chance? Dawn looked down and felt her fists clench up in anger, while Ash stared helplessly at her. "Are you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm okay?!" Dawn snapped, before softening her face towards him. She didn't mean to snap at him, but she was just so upset. Ash gave her a face expression that let her know an apology wasn't needed. Dawn wrapped her arms around Ash, engulfing him a hug while thinking about how her father had betrayed them. She should have known that he was never going to change. He was going to still be the same old Lucius that she met when he kidnapped her to take her to Team Electric's headquarters. Ash tightened the hug, trying to be as comforting as he possibly could while Dawn let her mind race. She now knew what she had to do. "Come on, we should probably go find the others and leave as quickly as possible." Dawn broke the hug, while still keeping her hands on his shoulders.

"I think that's a good idea." Ash agreed. Dawn walked ahead of him while Ash gave a look to Pikachu. The only thing they could do at this point was follow Dawn back over to the others and begin their trek to Hoenn.

* * *

Once Ash reached back to the house, he spotted the other teenagers waiting for him, almost looking impatient. But once they saw his face expression, their annoyance vanished and they soon became concerned.

"Is everything okay?" May wondered, seeing that Ash was a little out of it.

"Everything's fine." Ash lied, walking past them to avoid their gazes. "We should probably go to Hoenn and find the ice crystal."

"Don't you want to go and find Lucius?" Gary asked, still unsure why Ash was a little frazzled.

"No, I don't want to find Lucius. What's the point anyway?" Ash shrugged his shoulders while Gary followed Ash.

"Because don't we need to keep an eye on him to make sure that he's not doing something stupid?" Gary wondered.

"No, because of him, Trip knew where we were." Ash revealed. Gary took a step back, shaking his head in confusion.

"Trip knew where we were because of Lucius?" Everyone looked a bit surprised—except Paul and Misty.

"I knew it. I knew that Lucius couldn't change." Paul stared over at Misty who nodded her head in agreement.

"So what do we do now?" May asked.

"We leave, immediately." Everyone heard Dawn speak. Dawn looked unsure of herself, but then regained her confidence when she looked Ash in the eye. "We can't have anyone causing trouble while finding the ice crystal. Not even Lucius."

"But Dawn, are you sure?" Gary wondered, seeing that she was a little torn on leaving the man that was revealed to be her father behind. Dawn took a deep breath, nodding her head.

"I'm sure." Dawn started to walk ahead of everyone, turning her head when she noticed that no one was following her. "Well, don't just stand there! Come on!" Ash and Pikachu couldn't help but keep a concerned glance at Dawn. She was bothered by everything that happened, and she was pretending that she was fine—Ash could see right through her.

"So Paul?" Irene came up to him as the others started to make their way in front of him. Paul looked over to Misty who simply gave Paul a 'tell her no' look before walking ahead of him.

"What?" Paul pretended that he didn't know where this was going.

"So did you think about whether or not my father could come and help us find the ice crystal?" Irene wondered. Paul continued to stare at Irene, thinking on whether or not he should tell her the truth about Colress. After a moment of staring at Irene, he realized that the best way to possibly keep an eye on Colress was if Colress came along with them. Paul knew that everyone else was going to become tense around him, but in that moment Paul knew what he was doing.

"Uh…f…fine." Paul stuttered for a moment. Paul then put his hand up to prevent Irene to get closer to him. "Remember what we spoke about? No hugging." Irene backed away, nodding her head, but then entered the house in order to tell her father the good news. Paul continued to stare over at Irene, unsure if he made the right decision.

"That doesn't look like you told her 'no' to me." Misty spoke from behind Paul. Paul turned around, seeing that Misty was a little disappointed in the fact that he had actually gave in to Irene's request.

"Well, what did you want me to do Misty?" Paul sighed. "If I tell her that Colress can't come, then she's going to get suspicious. She'll know something's up."

"But I don't think anyone would be comfortable with letting Colress just show up and come along with us." Misty furrowed her eyebrows. "You usually have a stronger backbone than that. What happened?" Paul considered Misty's question for a moment, mulling over what could have possibly made him such a softie. After a moment, he realized that the girl standing in front of him was the one that had changed him—and in this situation, it may not have been a good thing.

"Um, I'm not sure." Paul hid his true feelings as Irene came out of the house with Colress.

"Thank you so much for letting my father come, Paul. It was really nice of you."

"Yeah…don't mention it." Paul muttered, walking away. Misty continued to stare at Paul before her gaze shifted over to Colress.

"Well then, we should get going." Colress exclaimed. Irene clapped her hands but Misty couldn't help but raise an eyebrow towards Colress. She didn't trust the scientist for one minute…and she wondered how long she would have to keep the little secret before having to spill to Irene that her father was actually working for Team Plasma.

* * *

Telling the other members of the team that Colress had joined them was the hardest job Paul had ever done. After explaining to them that he had allowed Colress to tag along, everyone became a little furious at the trainer, but after explaining his reasoning to do so, they realized that Paul may have had a plan in order to keep Colress in check. With Irene keeping her father busy, it gave the other members of the group a chance to talk.

"I don't know, Paul." Brock still seemed a little hesitant. "Bringing Colress along with us seems a little risky."

"I know it seems risky." Paul sighed, rubbing his temples. "But if we can show Irene in person what kind of a person Colress is, then she'll realize that we were right and she was wrong."

"But what would that exactly prove?" Zoey piped up. "All you'd do in the end is hurt the poor girl." Paul stuffed his hands in his pockets, contemplating the situation.

"But she needs to know the truth." Paul firmly stated. "If she doesn't find out, then she'll think that we all betrayed her because we knew and she didn't."

"But we might as well tell her now." Gary crossed his arms as Eevee nodded her head, agreeing with her trainer. Paul sighed, seeing that Irene was coming towards them, then ushered the others to keep their cool.

"So, are we going to find the new crystal or what?" Irene wondered, staring at Paul. Paul looked to Irene then turned to Ash who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Um…I guess we are." Paul looked back to Irene, noticing she was clapping her hands with joy. Irene ran ahead of the others, as Misty pulled Paul back for a moment while the others eyed Irene and Colress.

"This plan of yours better work, or else…" Misty gave Paul a steely glare and Paul became gruff.

"It will work, don't worry about it." Paul walked ahead of Misty, not noticing that she was giving Paul a concerned look. She knew that Paul put up a tough exterior but she could sense that there was something wrong with Paul…it was almost as if she could feel it.

* * *

Lucius looked in the bushes as the others began to leave the camp site. He wasn't sure what emotions he was going through. Possibly anger? Sadness? Betrayal that he hurt his only daughter? Lucius continued to stare as Dawn was further out of his view. That was when his eyebrows furrowed, anger piercing through his body. His daughter wanted to leave him behind? Fine, that was fine with him. He had a job that he had to do. Lucius heard someone come behind him as he turned around, staring over at Trip in interest. Trip leaned against a tree, walking towards Lucius.

"I can't believe that I betrayed her…" Lucius softly muttered. Trip rolled his eyes, keeping his eyes out into the distance.

"Get over it. Dawn will." Trip noticed that he sounded more harsh than usual. "Look, you have a mission and that's to find all of the crystals so that Team Electric can rule the world. We can't do that if you're sitting over there, worrying about your estranged daughter. She's one of the guys that's going to get in our way, so right now she's the enemy."

"I'm aware my daughter is the enemy…but she doesn't know that she's hanging out with the enemy either." Lucius snapped. "She's hanging out with Colress and he works for Team Plasma."

"And? That way they destroy Cynthia and Alder." Trip didn't see the issue. "And when Team Plasma destroys the Champions and those children, that's when you come in and you defeat Team Plasma. That way, you get what you want and everyone's happy." Lucius stroked his chin thoughtfully, staring at Trip with interest.

"And do you want to know something? You just might be right." Lucius saw Trip grin as he got up from his position. "Come on Trip."

"Where are we going?" Trip asked, noticing that Lucius was heading down the path that the others left by.

"We're going to follow then. We have to keep tabs on them, no matter what." Lucius said. Trip shrugged his shoulders, following Lucius as they decided with their newfound confidence to get the Electric Project once and for all.

* * *

As the others walked along the path to the ferry, Dawn looked around, releasing a trivial sigh. She was slightly depressed after finding out that her father had betrayed her. As a matter of fact, she was surprised that her father would claim he wanted to get to know her, then would double cross her. She supposed that's why her mother never told her about her father. Because he was a scheming, conniving human being. Dawn continued to walk along the path in anger, not noticing that some of her friends were staring over at her.

"Do you think we should talk to her?" May asked. "She does seem a little down."

"Well, she knew what she was signing herself up for." Misty reasoned. "Lucius is evil and Dawn didn't want to believe it. I think deep down inside, she thought she could change him for the better, but that wasn't the case." Misty couldn't help but feel bad for Dawn. All Dawn wanted to do was at least attempt to form some sort of relationship with her father. In the end—there was nothing. Dawn peered over at the others, noticing that the girls were staring back at her, then started to walk ahead of them.

"Dawn? Are you okay?" Daisy spoke up, seeing that Dawn had turned her back on them.

"Go ahead, talk and say how crazy I was that I could ever think that Lucius could change for me." Dawn's voice oozed with sadness.

"Dawn, we know that you wanted your father to change for the better…but there is no way that is happening." Zoey put a hand on Dawn's shoulder, speaking softly so the boys wouldn't hear. "Dawn…I know your hurt but maybe there was a reason Ash and your mother didn't want to tell you about Lucius. Maybe it was because they wanted to prevent you from getting hurt." Dawn thought about Zoey's words for a minute, then huffed as they continued walking.

"I just thought that he could change…" Dawn muttered.

"And maybe he can change..." Zoey softly said. "But we have to face facts. He's not willing to change for you right now." Dawn nodded her head at Zoey's words as Zoey grinned.

"Well, the past is the past. And that is the last time that I get involved with my father." Dawn declared. She then looked over to see Irene staring at Colress, turning back to the girls with interest. "We all know Colress is behind the whole Team Electric and Team Plasma meeting at Mt. Coronet, right?" Dawn saw the other girls, staring back at Dawn.

"Yeah, we do know. But what can we tell Irene?" Misty questioned. "It's not like she's going to listen to any of us. She might think we're all so jealous that she gets to spend time with her dad and we don't."

"I sensed slight bitterness on your part." Daisy chuckled.

"Well, it's true." Misty defended herself. She then turned back to Colress before her eyes shifted over to Paul. He was walking along by himself, keeping his distance as far from the boys as possible. She continued to stare at him, wondering if his plan to keep Colress close by having him join them was a good idea. She was certain that Colress would find some way to betray them, then be on his merry way. She didn't want to think like that—but it was a possibility.

"Misty, why are you staring at Paul?" May asked, noticing that Misty's cheeks were turning a bright red.

"Maybe because she has a crush on him, that's why." Daisy teased, causing Dawn to slightly giggle.

"Okay, I do not have a crush on Paul." Misty lied, and judging by the looks on the girls faces, they knew that Misty was a terrible liar.

"Sure you don't…"Zoey pretended to buy it as they walked along the path towards the ferry Misty continued to look at Paul, and the more that she stared at him, the more she knew that she was falling for him. But she couldn't bring herself to admit it. At least, not yet anyway…

* * *

Paul continued to stare to the side, looking at the view of the forest and trees, wondering when they would get to Hoenn in order to find the second crystal. As he turned his face to Colress talking to Irene, he tensed up. Maybe he didn't come up with the best plan after all. Maybe it would have been better if he had told Irene no. Paul noticed Irene staring at him and he simply scowled, looking away from her and staring at the forest view.

"Pika, Pika?" Paul turned to find Pikachu staring over at him from Ash's shoulder, wondering if Paul was okay.

"Why is your Pokémon talking to me?" Paul asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Because Pikachu wants to make sure you're okay?" Ash stated the obvious.

"Why does he care? It's not like he knows the seriousness of this mission." Paul scoffed, turning to stare back at Colress.

"Pikachu understands the seriousness of this. Do you? Bringing Colress here was a bad idea." Ash slightly scolded.

"I'm beginning to wonder if you're right." Paul admitted, noticing that Irene's face seemed so innocent, so pure. She had no idea that her father was the one that was behind the attacks that happened to them. Paul then gave Ash a confident stare as he turned back to him. "But we have to keep an eye on him. If Irene found out about Colress the wrong way, then she'll be hurt."

"So what exactly is the _right_ way for her to figure it out?" Ash questioned. Paul seemed stumped by Ash's question, not knowing how to answer it.

"She'll find out eventually, and then she'll see what a fraud he is." Paul didn't feel like elaborating as he and Ash were quiet for the rest of the walk. Ash noticed Paul studying Colress, his face filled with uncertainty. Ash _really _hoped Paul knew what he was doing. Letting Colress too close was one mistake that no one around them could ever make—or else it could mean disaster for the mission.


	22. Prepare For Trouble, Make It Double!

**A/N: When we last left our heroes, they were on their way to getting the ice crystal but they left Lucius behind when Ash realized that he was the one who told Trip where to find him, which disappointed Dawn. Irene insisted that Colress joined our heroes on their journey and although most of them were against it, Paul decided it would be a good idea in order to keep an eye on him. But can Colress be trusted? Will our heroes make it to Sootopolis City and find the ice crystal? Will they have more distractions along the way? Read on to find out!**

* * *

There was only so much Cress could take as he, Chili and Cilan spied on Irene and the others as they headed towards the ferry. He couldn't believe that he and Irene were a part of two different worlds, she was for good and he was serving Colress. He wanted to tell himself that the only reason that he was spying on Irene was to get information for Colress (who also happened to join the group to spy on the inside), but he also couldn't help but realize that he had feelings for Irene. Sure, she was sometimes annoying and she always would do before she thought, but she was sweet, genuine, kind. Not to mention when Cress broke her heart the other night, he couldn't forget her face expression. She looked hurt. She looked as if there was nothing that could make her feel better—until she realized that she only wanted her father. Cress was beginning to wonder whether it was a good idea to even spy on them, whether it was a moral idea to get involved in this in the first place. However, he had to remember that the only reason he was here today was because of Colress and Ghetsis. There was no other way around it. He was to serve them for the rest of eternity along with his brothers. He was just—conflicted. Cress didn't notice that Chili and Cilan were staring right at him, wondering if everything was fine with their brother. Then they realized that look he had—Cress was still into Irene, despite what happened between them.

"Cress, keep your eye on the prize." Chili said, looking back over to the group who had stopped to look for directions. The triads were currently hidden in the trees, looking down below at them.

"I am keeping my eyes on the prize." Cress couldn't help but admit that he sounded a bit unfocused. "I know the mission. I know what we have to do."

"Then stop putting your eyes on Irene." Cilan snapped. "We have to follow them if we have any chance of snatching the ice crystal from them."

"We also need to figure out a way on how to get the fire crystal from them." Chili added. "If we had all three of them, then we could hand them over to Colress and together we'd be unstoppable."

"Patience, Chili." Cilan sighed. "We're going to get the other crystals, but that's what Colress is for. He's there to find a way to get the crystals from them and into our possession, isn't that right Cress?" Cilan turned his head to see that Cress was just standing on the tree branch, staring down at Irene with a face that was almost contrite.

"Cress?" Chili was beginning to lose his patience with his brother. "Will you please stop looking at Irene so we can continue on with the mission?"

"What if this wasn't a good idea." Cress blurted out. Chili and Cilan elevated an eyebrow towards their brother, unsure of they had heard him right. "I mean, we're hurting them, and what if something happens to them."

"I don't know if you realized this, but we serve Ghetsis." Chili got up from his position, ending up in front of Cress to scold him. "We aren't supposed to think or act on our intentions. Whatever he wants is whatever we do. We are his for the rest of eternity, and there's nothing that we can do to stop it, no matter how difficult it may be. Now, I suggest you stop thinking about Irene and get over here while some of us thinking of a plan. She'll be fine as long as she doesn't get involved with our strategies, do you understand that?" Cress wanted to open his mouth and object, but deep down he knew Chili was right. There was no way that they could act upon their intentions. It wasn't happening. Cress finally let out a sigh while nodding his head to the others as they all continued to stare back down at the group. Cress knew he had to listen to Ghetsis and Colress—but his heart was beginning to tell him something much different.

* * *

"Are we almost at the ferry yet?" Max complained as May continued to stare at the map.

"We should be almost there, Max. Don't worry." May assured her brother.

"Really May?" Paul took a glare at May and Max, feeling his frustration rise. "Because that's what you said TWO HOURS AGO!"

"Maybe we are reading the map wrong." Gary acquired the map from May as he looked down at it. "Hmm…"

"Dad, are you sure the map you gave them is the most—_current_ one?" Irene asked Colress.

"I'm sure. It's the one I had in my back pocket." Colress responded his daughter, giving her his best innocent smile.

"Well, we're lost." Gary settled, passing the map over to Colress. "And this map has to be bogus or else we would have been at the ferry by now!"

"I have an idea." Max said. "Why don't we just send a Pokémon to find the ferry? That way we won't have to keep walking around like we're tourists."

"That's the best idea I've heard all day." Paul exhaled, going into his pocket to take out a Pokéball. "All right, Ninjask, go and see if you can find the ferry." Ninjask shot out of the Pokéball, flying away as Ash took out a Pokéball from his pocket as well.

"Swellow, go and help Ninjask!" Ash directed as he threw the Pokéball. Swellow shot out of the Pokéball, following the bug Pokémon while the others started to become troubled. Their eyes all shifted to Colress as Irene turned to each of them, unaware of what their predicament or matter was with her father.

"Why is everyone staring like that?" Irene asked after a moment of awkward silence. After realizing that no one was going to speak up, Paul let out a conquered sigh, shaking his head towards her.

"Nothing." Paul murmured. As Paul started to turn away, he noticed a Pokémon from the corner of his eye running through the bushes, his head whiplashing to it. Paul started to walk over to the bushes, in order to get a decent look at the Pokémon. It was a Pokémon that consisted of white, blue and pink coloring all over its body, its ear having what looked to be a white and pink bow, the laces streaming out of the bow, striped at the end with pink and two shades of blue. Paul looked closer into the Pokémon's eyes, the eyes a bright baby blue, and what he saw was fear. Paul had never seen a Pokémon like that before. Ash looked over Paul's shoulder, seeing the Pokémon for himself as the two trainers exchanged a puzzled look. _What is that Pokémon? _Paul immediately went into his Pokédex to scan the Pokémon as the poor thing stared over at them, looking disordered and frightened.

"**No data in this Pokédex.**" The Pokédex replied. Paul's frustration was palpable as he looked over to Gary.

"I thought you upgraded my Pokédex." Gary strolled over to Paul, staring at the Pokémon. Gary looked through his Pokédex as well; his saying the same thing after trying to scan the Pokémon.

"I have no idea what this is." Gary muttered. He walked forward towards the Pokémon, but the more that he tried, the more the Pokémon walked backward. "Gee, this is odd. I've never seen anything like this. Hey, Cynthia?" Gary called the Champion over. Cynthia walked over to where the boys were as Gary pointed over to the Pokémon. "Who's that Pokémon? It's not in my Pokédex." Cynthia leaned closer, looking at it, then back to Gary, Ash and Paul.

"I'm not quite sure what it is. I know it is not from here. I've never seen it before." Cynthia answered.

"Why do you think the Pokémon is scared to come out?" Ash inquired while Pikachu tried to get closer. Pikachu held its hand out for the Pokémon but it was still wary of Pikachu's advances. Irene pushed her way in between Paul and Gary, seeing the Pokémon, and as if she saw fireworks, Irene's eyes broadened in awe. She thought that the Pokémon had to be the most endearing thing in the entire world. The Pokémon noticed Irene's captivation with it as well, but unlike the others who were quizzical, Irene was full of admiration. Irene got down on her knees, putting her hand out with a smile.

"Come on little one, don't be shy." Irene sweetly told the Pokémon. The Pokémon wasn't quite sure what to make of Irene, but finally decided to walk towards her. The Pokémon sniffed Irene's hand, and then as if there was a breakthrough, she rubbed her head on Irene's hand, just wanting to feel some comfort. The boys were stunned while Cynthia was surprised. Out of everyone to get the Pokémon out of the bushes, it was Irene.

"Do you think Daisy might know what this Pokémon is?" Paul asked, turning to Gary. "I mean, she has been on islands that we might not have found yet. She might know where this one is from." Gary nodded his head, motioning his sister to come over. Daisy noticed what the excitement was about when she saw the Pokémon. Daisy looked at it astoundingly, almost as if she had seen it somewhere before.

"Where did you find her?" Daisy leaned down and petted the Pokémon on its head along with Irene.

"Wait, _her_?" Ash took a step back to comprehend Daisy knew what this Pokémon was—and the fact that it was a girl.

"We found her in the bushes." Gary answered back. "Do you know what she is or not?"

"Of course I know what she is." Daisy got up from the floor, staring at the Pokémon. "I was doing research on Eevee back at the lab and Eevee's DNA code is astounding. This Pokémon…is an evolved form of Eevee."

"What?" Gary's eyes enlarged, staring over at his Eevee who was currently being petted by Dawn and Zoey. He turned back to Daisy, then to the Pokémon. "That can't be. Eevee only has seven evolved forms: Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Leafeon, Glaceon, Umbreon and Espeon."

"I initially thought so too." Daisy said to her brother. "But then I took a closer look at Eevee's code. And her DNA can adapt to almost any surrounding anywhere. This Pokémon that I've also been doing some research on…is Sylveon."

"Sylveon?" Ash questioned. "So you've been doing more research than just the Electric Project."

"I dabble here and there." Daisy shrugged her shoulders, not thinking of it as a big deal.

"By the way, how did you figure out what this Pokémon was?" Gary questioned.

"Well I saw on Grandpa's computer that you did some research on Eevee and I decided to just look through your notes. I noticed there were more links than the initial seven in Eevee's DNA. And that was when I got to figuring out, Eevee has a DNA structure that can cause her to evolve into different forms and shapes, some that we may not know about yet in the Pokémon world. There is one thing I do know. Sylveon is from the Kalos region, which is quite a long way from Sinnoh. I wonder how she even got here."

"We should probably take her back to where she came from." Ash said with a small smile.

"But we don't have time for that." Paul interjected. "Look, I get the Pokémon is adorable and cute and all but we don't have time to go all the way to Kalos in order to return her to her habitat. We need to find the stones and stop Team Plasma and Team Electric from taking over the world. Did that ring a bell to you?"

"You could have just said no." Ash retorted as Pikachu gave Paul and Ash an anxious look. "There was no need for the rant."

"Can you both stop arguing for a second?" Daisy instructed them. "Look, since Kalos is a long way from here, I suppose that Sylveon can come with us for the time being. It will give me more of a chance to observe her and see what else I can find out about her." Gary crossed his arms, staring at his sister with a firm look. He wasn't quite sure he enjoyed where this was going. He thought Daisy actually wanted to help Sylveon; instead, it looked as if Sylveon was going to be another one of Daisy's 'projects.'

"That sounds like a good idea." Ash approved. Paul had to admit that Daisy had a good idea, nodding his head with agreement.

"All right." Paul sighed.

"So it's settled then." Daisy got up from the ground, staring at Sylveon. Irene picked up Sylveon giving her a hug, yet Sylveon looked quite uncomfortable with the attention.

"I'll take good care of Sylveon. Don't worry, Daisy." Irene smiled towards the researcher. Daisy gave a chuckle and leaned down towards Irene.

"I'm sure you will, I have complete faith." Daisy put a hand on Irene's shoulder, and then started to make her way with Cynthia back to the others, pulling out what seemed to be a tablet and looking through it for information on Sylveon. Gary clenched his fists, looking to Ash and Paul who were both entertained with Gary's jealousy.

"Jealousy doesn't look good on anyone Gary." Ash joked, walking ahead of Gary. Paul added a chuckle of his own as he followed Ash's lead. Gary just didn't understand. Was Daisy really all about just the information? Her just constantly researching could possibly get them into trouble one day—and Gary didn't like it.

* * *

They didn't know that they were being watched but it wasn't by Team Plasma or Team Electric. Instead, it was an old enemy of theirs who constantly was after their Pokémon—Team Rocket. Jessie, James and Meowth disguised themselves as a bush, staring over at what they called, the twerps. They had eavesdropped in on the conversation about there being a new Pokémon and of course, they had been intently waiting for this moment. They also had been overhearing them talk about some plan to get a crystal when they started following them back from Karissa's house. However, they had their sights set on smaller things, such as the rare Pokémon they had just found.

"Could you believe that those twerps found that cutie of a Pokémon?" Jessie said once the adolescents and champions were out of sight. "That's one is ultra-rare around here."

"Apparently not in Kalos." James reminded her.

"It doesn't matter." Jessie glowered at him. "It's still ultra-rare almost everywhere else."

"Imagine if we gave that Sylveon to the boss." Meowth started to think while tapping his chin with his paw. "Then we'd be in a gold mine?"

"Please explain yourself?" James wanted some illumination from Meowth.

"Think of it this way, with that Pokémon, the boss would be taken seriously and we'd be on top." Meowth said. "Team Rocket would have a rare Pokémon and we'd be able to use it to gain an upper hand on everyone else around us. We'd even be able to gain an upper hand on the twerps if we ever learned to harness its true power."

"You know what Meowth…" James impressively stared at the cat like Pokémon. "This sounds like it could actually work."

"I'm chock full of great ideas." Meowth proudly exclaimed.

"Of course you are…because your great ideas usually end with us getting blasted off by Pikachu." Jessie's voice oozed with sarcasm.

"Well, it's gonna be different now!" Meowth yelled towards the female member of Team Rocket. "We're gonna get that rare Pokémon and then we're going to use it to get to the boss, then he'll have to say, '_I finally have myself a rare Pokémon, and it's all thanks to Meowth and his friends. As a matter of fact, they should share in the glory with me_.' Then we'll be rich and famous!"

"And we won't have to answer to anyone because we'll be the top bosses of the Pokémon world!" James began to feel excited about the plan.

"And nothing can get in our way!" Jessie finally got into the spirit.

"We shoot!"

"We score!"

"Pokémon galore!"

"_WOBBUFFET!_" Jessie's Wobbuffet came out of its Pokéball and interrupted them, causing Jessie to release a tired groan.

"Yes, now let's go and catch that Sylveon!" James beamed, as Team Rocket attempted to think of their plan, which would most likely have some flaws in it.

* * *

The teenagers looked around towards the sky, trying to figure out where Swellow and Ninjask could be. It couldn't have been that hard to find the ferry terminal to Hoenn. As Ash traversed his arms, Paul observed the sky, trying to see if he could find the Pokémon up above.

"This is getting kind of creepy." Brock said, looking to Ash. "I mean, Ninjask and Swellow must either really be looking or they're lost as well."

"Well, I'm sure that they'll find their way back to us, they always do." Ash tried to sound poised, but found it a little harder every moment that passed and there was still no sign of the Pokémon.

"Well, I'd like to know if we can stop to eat something." Misty sounded a bit frustrated. "I mean we have been walking around a lot and we could use a break to just relax."

"Yeah, it wouldn't really hurt." Zoey added, staring over at Cynthia and Alder.

"A break does sound like a good idea, I suppose." Alder nodded his head, agreeing with the girls. "What do you think Cynthia?"

"Let's rest here. It will give Swellow and Ninjask some time to find us." Cynthia relented, staring at the trainers. They all let out a sigh of relief as they sat down, staring over at one another and getting out their sacks for lunch. Dawn started to go into her backpack but she stopped after a moment when she saw the paper that she ripped out from the book in Professor Oak's lab. It was the picture of her father from the book that spoke about Team Electric. She selected the paper from her backpack, looking at it fixedly, finally tossing it to the side as if it didn't matter. Ash and Pikachu noticed her actions and finally decided to go and talk to her.

"Are you okay?" Ash speculated, noticing Dawn was in a state of confusion.

"How could my own father betray me? I thought that I could have changed him." Dawn ran a hand through her hair, avoiding Ash's stare. "I mean, I thought that if he saw me, he would be willing to change for me. But I guess that wasn't the case." Ash couldn't help but feel bad for Dawn. He came closer to her, putting his hand on hers, watching as she gaped into his eyes.

"Dawn, sometimes it just might be for the best that we don't know people." Ash explained softly. "I know that you wanted to try to make your father change and stop what he was doing, but the truth is—he's in too deep. He's not going to stop until everyone and everything around him is miserable. That's what he's doing to you. He's making you miserable, Dawn. Sometimes you need to cut out those people from your life and only focus on the good."

"I guess I wanted more than just to change him." Dawn slightly admitted. "I wanted my mom to see that he was willing to change and maybe by a long shot they could talk again. It's been years since I've seen him and got to know him." Ash finally understood what Dawn's logic was, and whether he agreed to it or not wasn't up to him. He just had to be there for her during this confusing yet unexplainable time.

"All I have is my mom." Ash simply said then looked over to Gary and Daisy. "All Gary and Daisy have is Professor Oak. Sometimes you just need that one person." Dawn thought about Ash's words, a small smile appearing on her face as she stared at him.

"I think I already found that person…" Dawn slyly mentioned, noticing Ash started to blush. Dawn then focused her attention to the Sylveon that was playing with Eevee, still unaware what to make of the Pokémon. "Ash, what type of Pokémon is Sylveon anyway?"

"I don't know?" Ash shrugged his shoulders. "Daisy said she was going to look into it. But one thing is certain, Sylveon is really a mystery. I actually would like to visit the region of Kalos and see all the different types of Pokémon that are there. I think it'd be interesting."

"One thing I want to know is how did Sylveon end up all the way out here?" Dawn faced Ash, staring into his brown eyes. "I mean Sinnoh is a long way from Kalos. Sylveon had to have come here somehow."

"Well the important thing is that Sylveon will get to go home after all the craziness is over." Ash sighed. He then studied Gary and Paul who were both busy at staring at the Pokémon. Paul was fascinated, but Gary on the other hand seemed wary. As they all stared over at the Pokémon, Dawn brought her attention back to Ash, seeing that he was now deep in thought about something.

"Are you all right?" Dawn asked, intertwining her fingers with his as he stared back at her. Ash nodded his head, but Dawn knew that he was thinking about something, anything.

"I was just thinking…" Ash mumbled. But Dawn was able to see through him. That was then she realized that something or _someone_ was in the back of his mind—Cilan.

"You're still upset that Cilan betrayed us, aren't you?" Ash stammered at Dawn's question but she had gotten through to him. Ash let out a sigh, nodding his head with a saddened expression.

"Why did he have to do that for?" Ash sighed, thinking about his former friend. "I mean, I thought he was my friend. I guess I'm too trusting, huh?" Dawn chuckled, shaking her head slowly.

"No, that's not it." Dawn moved closer to him, moving her hand to his shoulder. "It's Cilan's loss that he lost a good friend like you. There's nothing that anyone can do to help him. If he wants to work for Team Plasma, then fine. We'll just stop him. Remember, he has Chili and Cress. We have more on our side. You have your friends, you have Pikachu, you have _me_. All right?" Ash nodded his head as she nuzzled her nose with his.

"You're right, Dawn. It's his loss." Ash blushed, looking into Dawn's eyes. Ash and Dawn leaned in for a kiss until—

"_PIKA!"_ Pikachu was suddenly grabbed off the ground by a gigantic hand as all of the teenagers looked up to the sky. The familiar Meowth balloon confirmed their suspicions—it was none other than Team Rocket.

"Don't those losers ever give up?" Zoey grumbled, staring over to Gary who was taking out a Pokéball.

"Apparently not." Gary was about to throw the Pokéball but noticed another claw was coming towards them.

"Gary! Zoey! Irene! Look out!" Dawn yelled towards them. The three of them moved out of the way as Sylveon and Eevee stared at the claw coming towards them. Eevee pushed Sylveon out of the way, but in the process, Eevee was grabbed instead.

"EEVEE!" Gary screamed, noticing Eevee going up towards the Meowth balloon.

"_Listen, is that a twerpish voice I hear?"_

"_It's shrieking to me loud and clear."_

"_On the wind."_

"_Past the stars!"_

"_In your ear!" _

"_Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace."_

"_Dashing hope, putting fear in its place."_

"_A rose by any other name just as sweet."_

"_When everything's worse, our work is complete."_

"_Jesse."_

"_James."_

"_And Meowth! That's a name!"_

"_Putting the do-gooders in their place."_

"_We're Team Rocket."_

"_In your face!"_

"So we're back to that motto, huh?" Dawn complained, as the others looked un-amused.

"We felt the one we used while following the twerp around Unova was a little too serious." James shrugged his shoulders, not noticing the others were simply staring at them.

"It didn't have the finesse that was the Team Rocket trio." Jessie added.

"Look, as much as we'd love to stay here and battle you." Paul said sardonically before becoming serious. "We need you to get out of the way and give back the Pokémon so we can be on our way."

"Oh, you want Sylveon back, is that right?" Meowth chortled while Jessie and James joined him. Everyone looked down to the ground, staring at Sylveon who was simply staring up at Team Rocket with curiosity. "Well too bad! You aren't going to get her back."

"Can I ask something?" Daisy questioned, gazing at Team Rocket. "Just who do you think you have?"

"We have Sylveon of course. Why are you judging us?" James asked. Team Rocket realized that Sylveon was sitting next to Irene, causing them to wonder what they had caught in their net. They looked down, noticing Pikachu and Eevee staring at them, looking livid.

"We caught Pikachu and Eevee?" Jessie's eyes widened, looking to Meowth and James.

"Hey, you know what they say. Gotta catch'em all!" Meowth exclaimed, causing Jessie and James to shoot the teens a devilish grin.

"So it's Sylveon they want…" Daisy gazed over at Sylveon, then back towards Brock. "Brock, I need your help against Team Rocket. The rest of you need to find a way to keep Sylveon safe."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute…" Gary shook his head, looking to his sister. "You are not fighting Team Rocket by yourself. You're not sure what they're capable of."

"Gary's right." Ash added, agreeing with his friend. "You don't know what these creeps can do."

"Children, I am unaware why you are worried." Colress came from behind them as Ash started tensing up. "I'm sure that I am able to take care of this predicament."

"Oh really?" Ash coldly asked Colress, which caught Irene's attention. She looked over to Dawn, seeing that Dawn was also glaring at Colress. Was there something that she didn't know about?

"All right Team Rocket, the game is over!" Brock yelled towards the three criminals, taking out a Pokéball. "Chansey, I choose you!" Brock threw the Pokéball, releasing his Chansey with assurance.

"Chansey! Chan!" Chansey exclaimed, seeing that her friends were in trouble.

"Lillipup, I choose you!" Daisy threw the Pokéball, revealing the dog type Pokémon.

"What's a Lillipup?" Dawn wondered, looking at Paul who quickly took out his Pokédex to scan the Pokémon.

"**Lillipup, the Puppy Pokémon. The long hair covering Lillipup's face is an excellent radar, which senses conditions in the surrounding area**." The Pokédex said. As the other teenagers stared at Lillipup, Dawn and Zoey's faces erupted into a gigantic smile.

"Oh my gosh! Lillipup is so cute!" Dawn fawned over the Pokémon.

"She's so precious! I wonder how she would do in contests!" Zoey added.

"Lillipup isn't just cute, you know." Daisy grinned. She turned to Lillipup, then back towards Team Rocket. "Lillipup, use Shadow Ball!"

"Chansey, use Secret Power!" Brock commanded. At the same time, Lillipup started charging for its Shadow Ball while Chansey started emitting its secret power.

"Oh, they're not going to get away with this." Jessie took out a Pokéball. "Seviper, use Haze!" Seviper popped out of its Pokéball, emitting a gigantic haze while the teenagers started coughing. A moment later, the Team Rocket balloon was gone and so where Pikachu and Eevee.

"We have to find them." Gary became determined.

"Yeah we do." Ash agreed.

"But how are we supposed to find Pikachu, Eevee and Team Rocket?" Dawn asked. "There's no way we can do that with Ninjask and Swellow still AWOL." As soon as Dawn explained her reasoning, Sylveon started running in the direction that Team Rocket went, causing Daisy and Irene to become worried.

"Sylveon!" The two girls yelled, but all Gary did was shoot his sister a look, knowing about her true intentions.

"Come on, we have to find Sylveon…and Pikachu, Eevee and eventually Swellow and Ninjask." Ash listed all of the Pokémon, putting his hand on his head as he began to feel dizzy. "Come on." The others followed Ash down the path as they started to find Sylveon. If they found Sylveon, they would find Team Rocket.

* * *

Sylveon continued to quicken its pace after the balloon, following Team Rocket who had Pikachu and Eevee. Sylveon wasn't quite sure why she was helping the group of teenagers that she had only met moments earlier, but she knew that they were in trouble and they needed help. Sylveon accelerated her stride, seeing the balloon get farther and farther away from her. She had to find a way to reach Team Rocket before they got away.

"I can't believe we didn't get away with that Pokémon." Jessie crossed her arms in disappointment, although she didn't recognize that she had gotten away with taking Pikachu for the time being. "We could have been stars with the Boss." James turned his head while Jessie continued to complain, seeing that Sylveon was running to them.

"Look, it seems that Sylveon abandoned the twerps and now wants to come with us for a change!" James turned excited as Jessie and Meowth smiled at one another.

"This must be our lucky day!" Jessie squealed.

"Well, let's get that Pokémon before the twerps come and get it." Meowth was about to press a button on the Team Rocket balloon panel until—

_POP!_

A Pokémon popped a hole into the balloon, causing the criminals to crash onto the ground. As soon as they hit the ground, the claws let go of Pikachu and Eevee, the two smaller Pokémon running behind Sylveon.

"Pika, Pika?" Pikachu looked to Sylveon, asking if it was the one who attacked the balloon. Sylveon simply shook her head, still confused as to who was the one that caused the attack. The three of them gaped up at the sky, viewing Swellow and Ninjask coming towards them. Pikachu's face flashed with excitement as Eevee jumped for joy.

"Eevee!" Eevee waved over to Swellow and Ninjask.

"Swellow!" Swellow used its wing to wave as both flying Pokémon landed on the ground.

"Pika, Pika, Pikachu." Pikachu pointed towards Team Rocket. Swellow followed Pikachu's hand, staring at the three offenders who were still recovering from their free fall.

"Oh those twerps are going to get it!" Jessie went into her Pokéball compartment, taking one out and throwing it towards the other Pokémon. "Woobat, come and show these Pokémon who's boss." A moment later, the Woobat appeared, flying overhead Pikachu, Eevee, Sylveon, Swellow and Ninjask, the five Pokémon getting close together; ready to let out a signature attack.

"Stop right there, Team Rocket!" Jessie, James and Meowth turned their heads to spot the adolescents running towards them, causing the group of crooks to compose themselves. As soon as Ash and the others reached the Pokémon, James went to get a Pokéball as well, but some of the teens were interested in the Woobat Pokémon. Paul went into his pocket to take out his Pokédex, pointing it towards the Woobat as it read the description.

"**Woobat, the Bat Pokémon. It's habitat includes dark forests and caves. It also emits ultrasonic waves from its nose to learn about its surroundings.**" The Pokédex said.

"So that's what that fur ball is." Paul sneered.

"Excuse me! How dare you make fun of my Pokémon! I'll show you! Woobat, use gust!" Jessie commanded. Paul turned to Ninjask who got into a defensive pose.

"Ninjask, Fury Cutter. Let's go." Paul countered. Ninjask flew towards the Woobat with supersonic speed, the forearms becoming a crimson color. Before Woobat could use its gust attack, Ninjask got close enough for the attack, striking Woobat as the crimson glow became longer. Ninjask continued to strike Woobat with the Fury Cutter until Woobat couldn't fight anymore, falling to the ground and feeling feeble.

"Woobat! Get up!" Jessie yelled, but Woobat formed circles in its eyes, unable to battle. James threw his Pokéball, releasing Yamask. This time, Gary went into his pocket to take out his Pokédex, wanting to know about James's newest Pokémon.

"**Yamask, the Spirit Pokémon. Yamask is a Ghost-Type Pokémon that wanders the ruins of ancient civilizations." **The Pokédex announced. Gary grabbed a Pokéball, then threw it with a smirk.

"Umbreon, let's go!" As soon as the Pokéball landed, Umbreon came out, staring over at Team Rocket with a glare.

"Yamask, use Will-O Wisp!" James yelled.

"Umbreon, dodge it then use Shadow Ball!" Gary opposed. Umbreon quickly got out of the way of Yamask's Will-O Wisp attack, quickly charging a Shadow Ball, and throwing it towards Yamask, causing the Ghost-Type Pokémon to hit a nearby tree.

"Yamask!" James screeched. Umbreon looked to Gary as Gary nodded his head. It was time to put this battle with Team Rocket to bed.

"Pikachu, get on Swellow's back and charge for a Thunderbolt! Swellow, use Aerial Ace!" Ash told his Pokémon. In a split second, Pikachu jumped on top of the bird Pokémon as Swellow flew up into the sky, perfecting the Aerial Ace so it could send Team Rocket out of the premisis. As Swellow flew down in a bright yellow thundered armor, Sylveon decided to join in the fun, using the attack Swift at the same time Swellow and Pikachu hit a screaming Team Rocket. In a moment's notice, Team Rocket was flying in the air, once again unsuccessful in their scheme.

'I can't believe we didn't get that rare Pokémon!" Jessie crossed her arms and huffed.

"Well, not getting that Pokémon is the least of our worries." James disputed, looking at his partner in crime.

"Oh really? And why is that?" Meowth grumbled.

"Because…"

"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"

After observing Team Rocket getting blasted off, Ash and Gary ran to their Pokémon to make sure that they were okay. Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder while Gary hugged Eevee tightly to him. In the midst of it all, Irene was extremely confused. Those three were supposed to be criminals?

"Who were those guys?" Irene turned her head to Paul and Misty.

"An annoyance." Misty quickly answered, wanting to move her attention to the Sylveon that was walking over to Irene. Irene pet Sylveon's head as Sylveon affectionately rubbed on Irene's leg like a cat. They weren't sure what was going on, but Sylveon seemed to have liked Irene.

"I wonder what draws Sylveon to Irene." Paul muttered to Misty. Little did they both know, Colress was listening in on the beginnings of their conversation.

"I have no idea." Misty answered, shrugging her shoulders. "It's almost as if Sylveon and Irene have some sort of bond. The question is, why?"

"Well, I do know one thing." Paul crossed his arms, staring at the gym leader. "There's something different about Irene. I mean first the red bracelet she has glows and brings Ash back to life, now all of a sudden; a Pokémon that we don't know much about wants to befriend her. It's almost like she has this hidden aura or something."

"So what are you saying?" Misty asked.

"What I'm saying is, we might want to keep a close eye on Irene." Paul answered. "She may be more powerful than she's letting on." Misty and Paul walked away from Colress as he stared over at his daughter. He was unaware that Irene could have been that powerful. In fact, Irene could be the key to unlocking where the other crystals were. He didn't want to have to do this, but he had no choice—he was going to have to use his own daughter.

"So Swellow, did you find where the ferry was?" Colress was knocked out of his thoughts when Ash bent down to talk to his Pokémon. Swellow nodded its head, pointing the opposite direction that they were all going.

"So we've been going the wrong direction the whole time?!" Dawn exclaimed as Gary shot a cold look towards Colress.

"We were?" Colress said as he stuffed his hands in his lab jacket, looking away from the teenagers. "My mistake. I had no idea."

"Well, we might as well start heading back." Gary grumbled, nudging Colress as they walked past. Colress continued to stare at Irene bonding with Sylveon, a small evil smirk appearing on his face. His daughter could have been the key for him and Ghetsis to rule the world—and there was nothing that could stop Team Plasma from succeeding.

* * *

A couple of miles from where they were blasted off, Team Rocket was busy plucking leaves out of their hair (and fur) while venting their frustration over failing at their latest plan. Jessie took the last leaf out of her hair, putting it to the side as she let out an annoyed sigh.

"I am so tired of being the joke." Jessie said.

"So am I." James agreed.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Meowth added.

"There has to be something that we can do to show those twerps that we're better than them." Jessie started to get deep into thought.

"Well what _can_ we do, Jessie?" James questioned. "Those twerps are strong and now they have a new Pokémon with them. One that's rare and that's not from this region. They seem to get all the good luck while we get the rotten end of the Pokéblock."

"Well, there has to be something we can do to become stronger." Jessie said. "I'd do anything to be better than those little monsters."

"Excuse me…but did you say _anything_?" A voice said which caused the three crooks to turn their heads towards the person coming towards them. "I'm sorry; I couldn't help but hear your predicament."

"Who are you?" Meowth questioned.

"My name is Trip—and I have a proposition for you three." Trip said, giving them a smirk.

"And what would that proposition be?" James questioned, Jessie and Meowth sharing James's curiosity.

"If you join Team Electric, Team Rocket and Team Electric can rule the world." Trip said. "We're currently trying to get all three crystals to unlock the rainbow crystal. If you join us, then we'll make sure that you finally beat those brats and we get what we deserve—revenge."

"Revenge?" Jessie asked.

"Haven't you ever noticed how much that Ash Ketchum always gets in your way?" Trip pretended to sympathize with Team Rocket. "Always foiling your plans and always making you look like fools like blasting off into who knows where. I know exactly how you feel. Ash ripped a victory from me during the final round of the Unova League. It was mine but he somehow was able to use _logic_ against me and beat me. Now I have a score to settle with him. Join Team Electric, Team Rocket and together we will rule the world."

"But you're just a child…" James said as Jessie and Meowth turned doubtful.

"Yes, he is a child." Lucius finally appeared from behind the bushes, staring at Team Rocket. "But I'm not."

"That's Lucius! The head of Team Electric." Meowth told Jessie and James. Lucius smirked at Meowth's logic, looking to Jessie and James.

"What do you say, Jessie, James and Meowth?" Lucius asked. "Will you join Team Electric for glory once we have world domination?" Jessie, James and Meowth only took a moment to think over the proposition before their faces turned into an evil stare.

"What would we have to do…?"

* * *

**A/N: It looks like our heroes have to now deal with a new evil-and with Team Rocket joining forces with Team Electric, it can only mean that they better prepare for trouble, trouble that's double. Will they be able to deal with three teams after the crystal? What will happen next to our heroes? We'll find out next time on ****_Pokémon: The Electric Project!_**


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